On Friday, 9 February 2024, around 12:00 P.M., Riyad Shalaldah (34) was grazing his flock of 200 sheep in pastureland about 500 meters west of the village of Kobar, when three soldiers drove up in a civilian pickup truck. Shalaldah hid behind a dirt mound, and a few minutes later saw a settler arrive on a motorcycle. The settler and the soldiers gathered his flock and handed it over to two other settlers who meanwhile arrived. At that point, Shalaldah came out of hiding and tried to take back his sheep. The soldiers assaulted him, covered his head with a sack, hit him and drove him away in their pickup truck, apparently to a nearby settlement.
Shalaldah was held at the settlement for about three hours, during which he was abused. At 7:30 P.M., he was handed a phone and spoke with someone who presented himself as the area’s commanding officer. He instructed Shalaldah to report for interrogation at Ofer camp on the following Monday, 12 February. The soldiers then drove him back to the spot he was taken from and let him go. From there, village residents drove him to a hospital in Ramallah, where he was examined and sent home with painkillers.
On Monday, around 9:00 A.M., Shalaldah reported to Ofer camp. After waiting there until 2:00 P.M., he was told to go home without being interrogated. Shalaldah reported the theft of his sheep to the Palestinian DCO and contacted a human rights organization. A week after the incident, on 16 February, 20 of the 200 stolen sheep were returned to him.
Riyad Shalaldah, 34, a shepherd from Kobar, recounted in a testimony he gave B'Tselem field researcher Iyad Hadad on 18 February 2024:
We are a family of shepherds and we live on the western outskirts of the village of Kobar. About four years ago, a settler set up a farming outpost near the village, about 2-3 kilometers from our home, and brought about 250-300 sheep there. He started taking his sheep out to graze in broad areas, reaching the outskirts of our village. He usually takes the sheep out to graze armed. Whenever he saw me grazing my sheep about 800-1,000 meters from the edge of the village, he would chase me away and threaten to call the army. Because he’s armed, I’m afraid of him and leave the area. In the last two years I’ve stopped taking my flock to that area altogether, even though that leaves us with a very small bit of pasture that isn’t enough for the sheep. We’re afraid to go near him and usually don’t talk to him. We’ve had to start buying animal feed to make up for the lack of pasture.
On Friday, 9 February 2024, I was grazing my flock of about 200 sheep 500 meters from the edge of the village, not in the area he chases us out of. Around 12:00 P.M., a civilian vehicle drove up and three men got out. They were armed and wearing khaki uniforms without bulletproof vests or helmets, and two of them were masked. I think they were settlers in military uniform. They parked and started walking towards me. I left the flock and hid behind a dirt mound. I was alone and was afraid they would attack me. When they got to the sheep and didn’t see me, they started leading them away, and then another settler joined them on a motorbike.
I stayed behind the dirt mound and watched them from a distance, until two settlers in regular clothes arrived and the soldiers handed the sheep over to them. The two settlers started leading the sheep away. I called my nephew Ibrahim, 25, and asked him to come. Then I gathered the courage to come out of hiding and started heading after the settlers to get my sheep back. The soldiers chased me, and ordered me at gunpoint to stop and get down on my knees. They tied my hands behind my back with zip ties and covered my head with a cloth sack, so I couldn’t see anything. They demanded my ID card and when I said I didn’t have it on me, they started hitting me with their rifle butts while I was kneeling on the ground. They kicked me, mainly in the upper body, and then took me to their vehicle, put me in the back seat and drove off.
At some point the vehicle stopped and they let me out. I think we were in a settlement. They handed me over to other people, and I heard one of the soldiers telling them they’d caught me grazing sheep near the settlers. Because of the sack on my head, I couldn’t see if those people were soldiers or settlers. They held me there for about two to three hours, and every now and then they slapped me, kicked me or hit me with rifle butts.
All that time, I was given nothing to drink or eat and wasn’t allowed to use a restroom. I started feeling dizzy and nauseous, but whenever I made the slightest sound, even groaned in pain, they attacked me. Around 7:30 P.M., they handed me a phone and I talked with someone who presented himself as the officer in charge of the area. The sack was still on my head. He asked why I was grazing sheep near the settlement. I told him I wasn’t anywhere near the settlement and they’d taken me from the outskirts of the village. He said I was lying and they’d caught me on the way to the settlement. He ordered me to go to Ofer camp on Monday to meet him. Before he hung up, I asked him for my sheep back. He he said I didn’t have any sheep and hung up.
Then the soldiers drove me back to the place they’d taken me from. It was dark and I was exhausted. I could hardly walk. I went as far as I could and then I met some young men from the village. They drove me to a hospital in Ramallah. I had bruises all over my body. They ran tests and did X-rays, and then gave me painkillers and discharged me that night.
When I got home, I found out that my brother and cousin had gone to the pastureland while the soldiers and settlers were holding me and filmed it from a distance.
On Monday, 12 February 2024, around 9:00 A.M., I went to Ofer camp and waited there until 2:00 P.M. In the end, they told me to go home because there was no meeting.
I reported the theft of my sheep to the Palestinian DCO and to a human rights organization, but so far haven't heard any news. That flock is the livelihood of our family, 30 people. If they don’t give it back, it will be a disaster for us.
