Mufaqara - violent settlers from Mitzpe Avigail settlement threaten and beat
Before the holiday, we went to Mufaqara to Fadel Hamamda’s family. A family that is constantly attacked by the old settlers from Mitzpe Avigail and also a new settler who lives in a bus on the hill opposite.
We bought them food and were invited to the cave under their house, a cooler and more pleasant place to sit, in the terrible heat that day. We met Fadel’s two sons there. They told about the events of the last two weeks:
On Thursday two weeks ago one of them was with the herd in the pasture. Two young settlers arrived from Mitzpe Avigail and tried to evict him “Go away from here, this is not your land,” they said and one of them added and threatened with movements of his hands on his throat that even those who do not speak Hebrew can understand: “If you come again, we will slaughter you.”
“What did you do?” I asked.
“Nothing, he has a weapon. What could I do, I was scared, I returned home and called the police.” They came, the police, but they didn’t go down to the scene. They just watched from above, from Avigail, and left. Days later, on Saturday, when Fadel was working in his vineyard and olive plot, 3 settlers came and cursed him. Again, he was afraid because they were armed and went home. The police came again but stayed at the new settler’s farm up on the hill, looked and left. A few hours later settlers arrived with their herd at Fadel’s barley plot. The sheep ate all the barley that grew there and was intended for food for his sheep. They show us their water hole on the hill opposite. “We are not allowed to even get close to it. As soon as we get close, they immediately come and drive us away.”
Later that Saturday, 6 settlers arrived at Fadel’s son who was grazing the herd in another of their plots and started beating them. When he took out the phone to photograph them, they threw the phone at him and broke it. Luckily there were volunteers who live in At-Tuwani, they came and took pictures.
Again, they called the police, they arrived and told them to file a complaint with the Kiryat Arba police.
They did so and filed a complaint. They showed me the complaint. It only says that a complaint was filed by … The place intended for the details of the case was empty.
They also show me a paper explaining the Civil Administration’s policy,
A-Tuwani
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A-Tuwani
The locals came to a-Tuwani during the 20th century from the village of Yatta. They settled in abandoned ruins, utilizing the arable land, pastures for grazing sheep and the abundance of natural caves for habitation. The residents who settled in the caves came from families who could not purchase land for houses in the mother villages, as well as shepherds who did not have enough land to graze. They were joined by clan members who quarreled with other families in the mother locality.
Some of the residents today live in concrete buildings built above the caves. In the area of the village are several water cisterns and an ancient water well called 'Ein a-Tuwani. Local residents are forced to buy water in containers and transport them through many road blocks to the village. With the help of international organizations, an electrical system was installed in the village. In the late 90s of the 20tTh century, an elementary school was established in the serving several small villages in the area.
In 2004, MachsomWatch began visiting and reporting from the Khirbet Tuwani cave village, which suffers badly from the settlers of nearby outposts, and especially from the extremist Ma'on outpost. . The settlers contaminate cisterns, poison the flocks and uproot trees.Particularly notable is the harassment of children from the surrounding villages on their way to school in a-Tuwani, so much so that military escort of children is required to separate them from the attackers (this was arranged following an initiative of the organization's members). In the past year, the escort has been without the vital presence of overseas volunteers.
Near a-Tuwani there are several families who have returned to the caves due to the incessant demolitions of the civil administration (as there is a total construction ban in all of area C). Destroyed are not only residential and agricultural buildings, but also water pipes, machinery. Even water cisterns are clogged up. a-Tuwani residents have created an association for non-violent demolition protests, but in the past year the army’s harsh harassment and settler violence have intensified and escalated. The incident of the small generator confiscation, which left a young man paralyzed, is one of many examples - any legitimate protection of property rights leads to violence and even shootings by the army and the civil administration.
Updated April 2022
Muhammad D.May-13-2025Susiya - at Ahmad and Halima Nawaja'a
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Mesafer Yatta
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Masafer Yatta
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