On 22 May 2023, the last remaining residents of the community of ‘Ein Samia dismantled their homes and their sheep pens and left what had been their home for decades. For years, the community’s approximately 200 residents had been subjected to extreme restrictions on construction of both homes and infrastructure, which included the demolition of residential and agricultural structures. They also suffered from violence carried out by Israeli security forces and by settlers living in outposts built in the area, who enjoyed full state support. Families began leaving the community because of this harassment in late 2018.
Since 2019, Israel has demolished 18 structures in the community, including six homes that housed 41 people, 18 of them minors. The most recent demolition was carried out in January of this year, and a demolition order issued by the Civil Administration for the community’s school has been upheld by the court.
Below are the details of events of the most recent incidents of harassment that led to the community leaving:
On Monday, 15 May 2023, at around 9:00 P.M., about six armed settlers arrived in a car in the community of ‘Ein Samia. They went into the sheep pens and carried out a search for sheep that had supposedly been stolen, causing panic. They left after about 15-20 minutes, but about half an hour later, they flew a drone over one of the pens for about 10 minutes.
The next day, Tuesday, 16 May 2023, at around 3:00 P.M., while ‘Ata Ka’abneh (51) was grazing his flock of 75 sheep in the pasturelands of the village of Kafr Malik, an Israeli police officer arrived and claimed that part of his flock belonged to settlers. The police officer called five to seven settlers, who arrived in two cars and claimed they owned the sheep.
After about half an hour, the settlers led 37 of the sheep to their cars, with the officer’s protection, loaded them on trailers attached to their cars and left. A short time later, two other police officers arrived, arrested Ka’abneh and brought him to the Binyamin Police Station on suspicion of having stolen sheep from the settlers. Ka’abneh was interrogated, his photo and fingerprints were taken, and he was released after signing a bail bond for 1,500 NIS (~USD 400). The next morning, Ka’abneh returned to the police station to file a complaint about the theft of his sheep, but he was told there were no Arabic speakers on-site and that he should return at 2:30 P.M. Ka’abneh did so, but then was told that his account had already been recorded the day before, and the police officers refused to allow him to file a complaint or provide confirmation that he had submitted one.
The next day, Wednesday, 17 May 2023, a car with settlers again entered the community. A settler, claiming he was a security officer, took pictures of a flock belonging to one of the residents and circled it menacingly for five to 10 minutes, before the settlers left the site.
The next day, Thursday, 18 May 2023, the same jeep entered the community at midnight, and settlers who got out of it took photos of a flock belonging to another resident.
The next day, 19 May 2023, some settlers entered the community at night, attack houses with stones, waking up residents and their children in panic. Residents succeeded in holding back the settlers, but they returned about a half an hour later and again attacked houses.
The next day, Saturday, 20 May 2023, settlers again entered the community at night and attacked houses.
The next day, Sunday, 21 May 2023, settlers let a flock of some 200 sheep graze in the community’s barley fields.
This incessant harassment, carried out by settlers and with the state’s protection, has made it clear to the residents that they, their children and their property are in grave danger and that no one would protect them. These incidents were the final straw.
In a testimony he gave B’Tselem field researcher Iyad Hadad on 17 May 2023, ‘Ata Ka’abneh said:
On 16 May 2023, at around 3:00 P.M., while I was grazing my flock, 75 sheep, about a kilometer away from my home, an Israeli police car drove up and stopped beside me. A police officer got out of the car, approached me, and told me that settlers were claiming I had stolen their sheep. He said he would call the settlers to identify their sheep. I said that I had stolen nothing.
The police officer made several phone calls, and then two cars with trailers arrived. Five to seven settlers came out of the cars and claimed their sheep were in my flock. I tried to argue with them, but it didn’t help. They said that three of the sheep had tags with Israel Veterinary Services license numbers on them, and I told them that the tags were from a project funded by the Palestinian Agricultural Ministry three years ago. But the police officer said the tags and these numbers proved the sheep belonged to the settlers.
After about half an hour, the settlers led 37 of the sheep to their cars, under the protection of the police officer, and called another police car with two police officers. The first police officer left with the settlers, and the police officers who arrived in the police car arrested me on suspicion of stealing the sheep. They took me to the Binyamin police station, interrogated me, photographed me and took my fingerprints there. At around 8:30 P.M., after lawyers from the St. Yves organization got involved, they released me after I signed a bail bond for 1,500 NIS (~400 USD).
The next day, at 8:30 A.M., I went to the Binyamin police again to file a complaint, with the hopes that they would return my sheep. But the police officers wouldn’t let me in on the pretext that there was no interpreter and told me to come back at 2:30 P.M. When I came back, the investigator told me I had already given a statement the day before so there was no reason for me to file a complaint. I asked him for confirmation a complaint was filed, but he refused to give it to me.
Seven of the sheep that were stolen have lambs that cannot survive without their mothers.
In his testimony, Muhammad Ka’abneh (86) described the most recent harassment by settlers:
The last wave of settler violence started on Monday, 15 May 2023, at around 9:00 P.M., when a car entered the village with about six armed settlers, who entered the residential area belonging to my sister’s son Khader (55) and my son Mustafa (40), which is next to where the settlers built an outpost. They went into the sheep pens on the pretext that they were searching for sheep that had been lost or stolen. They walked around there for 15-20 minutes, caused fear and panic among everyone and then left.
After about half an hour, they flew a drone over Mustafa’s sheep pens for about 10 minutes. We started to worry that they would steal sheep because that had already happened in other communities.
The next day, Tuesday, 16 May 2023, at around 3:00 P.M., my son, ‘Ata was grazing his flock of 75 sheep in the pastrurelands in the western part of ‘Ein Samia. A police car arrived and detained him on the pretext that he had sheep in his flock that were stolen from the settlers. They also called settlers who came with pickup trucks and trailers and stole 37 sheep from the flock. The police officers also arrested ‘Ata and took him to the Binyamin police station on suspicion of theft. He was released after I signed a bail bond for 1,500 NIS.
The next day, Wednesday, 17 May 20023, in the afternoon, settlers entered the community in a jeep and stopped next the diwan (a community guest hall) I was sitting in. The driver told me he was from the settlement’s security. He took photos of Khader’s flock that was next to the tent. When Khader asked why he was taking photos, he answered he was a tourist and liked to take photos. After that, he circled the flock with his jeep for 10 minutes, scared the sheep and left.
The next day, Thursday, 18 May 2023, at midnight, a jeep again entered the community, and the settlers took photos of the flock belonging to Hbeishan Mahmoud (35).
The next day, Friday, 19 May 2023 at night, some settlers entered the village in cars and threw stones at some houses. Everyone woke up in a panic. We went outside and held back the settlers. We tried to go back to sleep, but half an hour later, the settlers returned and again attacked the houses with stones.
The same thing happened on Saturday night, 20 May 2023.
The next morning, Sunday, 21 May 2023, some of the residents had already decided to leave and started to take down their tents.
That same day, in the late afternoon, settlers let a flock of 200 sheep into our barley fields. We called for reinforcements from the villages of Kafr Malik and al-Mughayir and drove them out.
After this incident, we had a meeting and decided that we had to leave. We saw that we were losing our sheep and our crops. It’s happening right in front of our eyes. We are dying because of oppression and heartbreak. We have nothing left except for protecting our children and our women. We are not running away. What is happening in our case is forced displacement with the State of Israel’s approval. We can’t fight a state that has the means and abilities to defeat a power let alone a small Bedouin community.
That same night, at 10:30 P.M., the settlers set fire to our crops in the same place we had driven them out of that day. We arrived quickly to put out the fire, but the fire died down on its own after consuming several acres.
The next morning, Monday, 22 May 2023, we all started to take down our homes and animal pens quickly. We felt like we were racing against time, that any delay might cost one of our lives.
