Week Starting October 19 – A wrap up of incidents
On October 19, settlers chased a local Palestinian farmer off his land and threaten him near the village of Farisiya.
On October 24, the occupation forces stormed a home in Makhul, in the north of the Jordan Valley, terrorizing the local family. They tied up, blindfolded, assaulted and detained the father of the family. In an attempt to humiliate him, they filmed his assault and used his own phone to photograph him while he was tied up and blindfolded. The attack has led to a deterioration in Yousef’s mental and physical health. He is currently recovering at home.
On the 19th of October, Shai, a member of settler security, drove his white truck into a woman and her flock of sheep in Al Farisiya, injuring a sheep’s leg. Noticing the presence of internationals, Shai drove off and returned less than half an hour later with a member of the occupation’s border police. Attempting to cause further distress to the Palestinian families in Al Farisiya and intimidate the internationals, Shai and the border policeman claimed that the local woman was grazing her sheep too close to the settlement built right over her village’s land. After making their point of intimidation, both left without speaking to the local woman. Another half an hour later, 3 soldiers arrived, driven by what was likely a reservist settler in a civilian vehicle. They also claimed that the sheep, who were at most 100 meters away from their pen at any given moment, had come too close to the settlement. The army questioned the woman for half an hour, checking her documents and causing her distress. Even after they left, the occupation forces were successful in instilling fear in the local community and impeding on the little space Palestinians in Farisiya have left to graze their sheep.
In Khirbet Humsa this week, the illegal settlers have chosen another tactic to terrorize the local Palestinians, driving their ATVs past family houses to taunt them, sometimes shouting curses at them. This has kept families on edge anticipating an escalation of violence. On October 24, the illegal settlers ran over and killed a dog belonging to one of the families. The family reported that the settler stopped his ATV, got out and stepped on the animal demonstratively.
In Khirbet Humsa again, settlers descended from a nearby hill on the night of October 25 and attempted to sneak onto the property and steal the Palestinians’ sheep. The family caught sight of the settlers and called for international presence. The settlers did not manage to steal anything, however, their appearance in the night meant that at least 4 members of the family did not sleep in order to defend their animals. In the Jordan Valley, families have to show this level of vigilance daily and it only spikes around attempted attacks.
In Al Farisiya, a land grab has been progressing after illegal settlers spent the evening of the 22 and morning of the 23 of October ploughing the land belonging to Palestinian locals, as relatives of the land’s owners had to stand back and watch from afar. By October 26, the illegal settlers had built a fence around the land, effectively claiming it as their own.
