A-Rakiz, Sheikh Sa'id is not broken by the heap of abuse
We drove back to A-Rakiz, which is located between Mufakara and At-Tawani, after receiving the good news that Sheikh Sa’id had received a prosthetic leg to replace the one that was amputated and we wanted to congratulate him.
Reminder: On April 17, 2025, in a confrontation with the military security coordinator of Mitzpeh Avigail, Binyamin Bodenheimer (known to his friends as Bodi), shot Sheikh Sa’id in his right leg as he was trying to protect his plot of land from the settlers. He was detained for a long time until he was evacuated to Soroka hospital, where the surgeons had to amputate the leg. He has now received a prosthetic leg, which was fitted in a hospital in Bethlehem, and this makes him happy and more mobile. We were pleased to see masked volunteers from Europe were there.
Sheikh Sa’id is a believer and he radiates optimism and personal resilience. This time he told us about more horrible incidents from recent months. On July 21, 2025, at 7 in the evening, two settlers arrived at his olive grove. He and his sons called the police, and when they arrived fifteen minutes later, the settlers left. The police told Sheikh Sa’id to complain at the police station in Kiryat Arba and left. “I thought that was the end of it,” said the Sheikh, but it wasn’t enough for security coordinator Bodi and he called in the army, which is the executive arm of the settlers.
Sheikh Sa’id: “I saw the army. I called the police again.” Five soldiers turned up. They handcuffed his son and blindfolded him, and then Bodi arrived with his M16 and beat the Sheikh’s two sons with it. Not only did the soldiers prevent the violent security coordinator from beating the elderly man, they also joined in the beatings and one of them took the two boys, who were screaming with pain, to the jeep.
The neighbors called an ambulance, but the soldiers wouldn’t allow it to come close and took the two boys to the army base in Susiya. They detained them for the whole night and in the morning took M alone to the police for investigation and released A. Later, the police called to say they should come and take M home. It turned out that they had to take him to the hospital because the jokers had broken his arm, which remained in plaster for two months.
After Sheikh Sa’id contacted a lawyer about the violence he’d suffered at the hands of the men in uniform, it’s only now that they’ve come for his testimony at the DCL. He told them every detail of the incident, including the identity of the perpetrators of the beatings. Of course, the soldiers’ version of events was different. They said that it was the boy who had started the beatings. “And I ask you,” said Sheikh Sa’id, “how can a young lad, handcuffed and blindfolded, beat five armed soldiers?” And he adds, “They are investigating really seriously. They want to know the truth. They even helped me to get up and walk.” ….
Location Description
Mesafer Yatta
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This is happening in Fire Area 918 in the South Hebron Hills
On the eve of Remembrance Day (the day before Israel Independence Day), 4th May, 2022, the Israeli High Court decided on the transfer and expulsion of residents from 8 Palestinian communities in the area of Masafar Yata in the South Hebron Hills. Residents of the villages have been living under the threat of demolition, evacuation and expropriation since the IDF issued evacuation orders in 1999 based on the 1980s proclamation of their area of residence as a firing zone for IDF drills. None of the nearby settlements were included in this zone. The Masafer Yata Palestinian villages retain a special lifestyle and ancient agricultural culture. They also posess a clear historical documentation that testifies to a Palestinian settlement in this area, generations before the establishment of Israel, long ago in the caves and at later times outside them.
Evacuating residents from the area means destroying these historic villages and leaving entire families (about 2,000 people, children, adults, and the elderly) homeless. This is contrary to international law.
In June 2022, a firing drill started, and life became harder.
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South Hebron Hills
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South Hebron Hills
South Hebron Hills is a large area in the West Bank's southern part.
Yatta is a major city in this area: right in the border zone between the fertile region of Hebron and its surroundings and the desert of the Hebron Hills. Yatta has about 64,000 inhabitants.
The surrounding villages are called Masafer Yatta (Yatta's daughter villages). Their inhabitants subsist on livestock and agriculture. Agriculture is possible only in small plots, especially near streams. Most of the area consists of rocky terraces.Since the beginning of the 1980s, many settlements have been established on the agricultural land cultivated by the Palestinians in the South Hebron Hills region: Carmel, Maon, Susia, Masadot Yehuda, Othniel, and more. Since the settlements were established and Palestinians cultivation areas have been reduced; the residents of the South Hebron Hills have been suffering from harassment by the settlers. Attempts to evict and demolish houses have continued, along with withholding water and electricity. The military and police usually refrain from intervening in violent incidents between settlers and Palestinians do not enforce the law when it comes to the investigation of extensive violent Jewish settlers. The harassment in the South Hebron Hills includes attacking and attempting to burn residential tents, harassing dogs, harming herds, and preventing access to pastures.
There are several checkpoints in the South Hebron Hills, on Routes 317 and 60. In most of them, no military presence is apparent, but rather an array of pillboxes monitor the villages. Roadblocks are frequently set up according to the settlers and the army's needs. These are located at the Zif Junction, the Dura-al Fawwar crossing, and the Sheep Junction at the southern entrance to Hebron.
Updated April 2022
Smadar BeckerApr-10-2026New Israeli flags placed for miles on Highway 317 to prove who is sovereign
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