Mikhmas, al-Quds District: Settlers assaulted Palestinians in a playground near town, fired in the air and torched vehicles

On Wednesday, 11 June 2025, at around 6:00 P.M., two settlers arrived at a playground located east of the town of Mikhmas, about one to two kilometers from the homes, and fired live rounds in the air to drive away some 10 to 15 town residents who were spending time there, including women and children.

Young men from the town arrived to protect the residents, and a clash broke out, including mutual stone-throwing. Eventually, the settlers left in their car.

About 10 minutes later, some 15 to 20 settlers arrived in four cars and fired live rounds in the air and at the young men. At the same time, human rights activist Rabbi Arik Ascherman arrived at the scene and tried to drive the settlers away. One of them, who had his face covered, struck Ascherman with a stick on the shoulder and the head, causing a bleeding wound.

Israeli military forces arrived at the scene following Ascherman’s report, but attacked the young men from the town with stun grenades and drove them away, without taking any measures against the attacking settlers. While the military was attacking the young men, the settlers set fire to three cars parked near the playground. The police arrived about 15 to 20 minutes after the military, at which point the settlers fled the scene, and the soldiers left as well.

Earlier that day, at around 3:00 P.M., some 15 settlers raided the community of Khallet a-Sidrah, which lies about 500 meters north-east of Mikhmas, and vandalized property.

In a testimony he gave B’Tselem field researcher ‘Amer ‘Aruri, M.A., 54, described the settler attack:

Yesterday, at around 6:00 P.M., messages were posted on the town’s WhatsApp groups that there were settlers near the playground east of the town and that they were trying to drive people away. I went there with other young men from the town. When I arrived, I saw between 10 and 15 women, children and young men from the town, and two settlers who were firing live rounds in the air to scare people and make them leave.

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When more young men from the town arrived, stone-throwing broke out between the young men and the settlers. The settlers left, but after about 10 minutes, settlers again arrived in four cars, and this time there were about 20 of them. They again fired live rounds in the air above the heads of the Palestinian youths and tried to drive us away from the playground by force.

At the same time, Rabbi Arik Ascherman from the organization Rabbis for Human Rights showed up. He stood facing the settlers, about 50 meters away from me, raised his hands and tried to talk to them and persuade them to leave. While he was standing in front of them, a masked settler went up to him and hit him with a stick, first on the shoulder and then on the head, until blood started running from his head.

After about 20 minutes, the Israeli military turned up, after Rabbi Arik had called them. The soldiers drove us, the residents of Mikhmas, away from the playground, using stun grenades, but didn’t remove the settlers. I told an officer that there was a rabbi who had been wounded in the head in a settler attack, and he told me: “Don’t worry, we’ll take care of him.”

While the soldiers were making us leave, the settlers set fire to three cars that were parked near the playground. About 15 to 20 minutes after the military arrived, the police also came, and as soon as the patrol cars arrived, the settlers ran away.