Rakiz – terrible violence against Sheikh Sa’id
We chose to go to Tuwani following several serious incidents that took place the previous day in Rakiz and Tuwani.
Around 16:00, two young settlers entered Sheikh Sa’id’s land in the village of Rakiz. As we have reported several times before, settlers — mainly from nearby Avigayil — regularly invade Sheikh Sa’id’s orchard with their flocks of sheep. (To remind you, one of Sheikh Sa’id’s legs was amputated below the knee after he was brutally shot by B. Bodenheimer, known as “Budi,” the security coordinator of Avigayil, who shot him a few months ago.)
Sheikh Sa’id called the police and the army to come, but they did not arrive. After some time, settler Amichai Shiloh from the Derekh Ma’on outpost arrived on an ATV, accompanied by two other young settlers. They cursed Sheikh Sa’id, rode violently in circles, knocked him to the ground, and broke his crutches.
Meanwhile, another settler from Havat Ma’on arrived with a flock of sheep and a donkey — one that had previously been stolen from a local family — and entered the olive grove belonging to Na’im Adra, brother of Nasser, who later recounted the sequence of events.
The settler cut the fence surrounding the farmland, and Na’im called his family members at their home in Tuwani to tell them what was happening. His daughter, Sana, several international activists, and two activists from Ta’ayush immediately arrived at the scene. They contacted the police, who came 40 minutes later.
As the family tried to drive the flock out of their land, the security coordinator from Avigayil (the same one who had shot Sheikh Sa’id) arrived on his ATV and tried to run over Adham (Nasser’s son). He then beat Sana and Salem (also Nasser’s son), hitting them all over their bodies, including their faces — severe blows.
Na’im told the police: “Look what’s happening here”, and the answer was: “There’s nothing we can do”.
When the settlers saw one of the activists documenting the incident, they pushed her to the ground, injuring her as well. After some time, more soldiers and police arrived. Three ambulances came to treat the wounded, who were taken to Beita Hospital.
How unsurprising that one of the settlers claimed that Basel — the brother of Adham and Salem, and one of the Oscar winners for the film “There Is No Other Land” — along with a Ta’ayush activist, had thrown stones at him.
We know these kinds of victim-blaming accusations all too well.
Basel explained that it never happened and managed to get into the ambulance that took Sana and Salem to the hospital.
The army then closed the gate that had been placed about two weeks earlier at the entrance to Tuwani.
Around 7:00 p.m., the army expelled Nasser and the activists who were in Na’im’s field, sending them back to their homes in Tuwani. Na’im stayed behind to give testimony to the army.
Their lawyer, Kamar, requested that they file an official complaint and statement at the Kiryat Arba police station.
Later that evening, five soldiers came to the area near Nasser’s house (where we were sitting with him) and demanded ID cards. The children there were terrified and started to cry. Does anyone care? No.
When they finished there, the soldiers went to Basel’s house, where his wife and their nine-month-old baby were alone. Nasser and his wife asked to go be with her in this difficult moment, but the soldiers refused.
Another family’s car had its tires slashed with a knife — why? Simply because cruelty is easy.
Around 9:00 p.m., the army finally left Tuwani.
Another day in which violent settlers prove exactly what Jewish supremacy leads to.
#ThisisOccupation
Location Description
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
Yael ZoranApr-15-2026Between the flags, barbed wire blocks passage to the dirt path.
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Masafer Yatta*
See all reports for this placeSouth 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
Yael ZoranApr-15-2026Between the flags, barbed wire blocks passage to the dirt path.
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