Settler attack in Susiya
Settler attack caught on video.
Tamaam, one of the victims of the attack.
In the past few days, media in many countries have reported about the vicious settler attack on a group of Palestinians that took place in the South Hebron Hills on Sunday, the 8th of June. Video footage of masked settlers attacking unarmed Palestinians with bats and rods have shocked both Israelis and people abroad. As EAs placed in Hebron, going every week to the South Hebron Hills and having close ties with Palestinian families there, we feel sad and angered about this meaningless violence. This latest occurrence serves as additional proof of the hardships that the Palestinian community in the area has to endure.
The attacked persons, two women and two men, belong to the Palestinian community in the area of Susiya. They are all members of one of the biggest families in the Susiya area. The persons attacked were Tamaam and Khalil, a married couple in their mid-fifties, and Rabiha and Imran, also married and in their thirties. Traditionally, the people of Susiya were cave dwellers, but after the Israeli army demolished their caves and expelled them from their original site, they have been living in tents. They live right next to an Israeli settlement, also called Susiya. These settlers are driven by religious and ideological motives, making them a constant threat to the surrounding communities. This settlement and all the other settlements in the West Bank are considered illegal under international law. Throughout the years, settlers have shown a keen interest in their lands, an interest that unfortunately all too often has taken the shape of threats, trespassing and occasional physical attacks.
On the day of the attack, the family was out grazing their sheep on their lands in the close vicinity of the camp. Suddenly, two settlers from the Susiya settlement - from which most of the settler aggressions in the area emanate - appeared and told the family to leave. When they refused, the settlers left briefly. However, shortly after, a group of four masked men returned with baseball bats and clubs. They went to attack against the family, beating all four of them to the ground, hitting them on their heads and backs. The older of the women, Tamaam, received such bad blows to her head and face that she lost consciousness.
When the settlers finally left, Imran, together with another family member who had rushed to the spot, managed to reach one of the Israeli military posts located in the area to ask for help. When approaching the military post, the soldiers yelled at them to remain at a 20 meter distance, and to pull up their shirts to show that they were not carrying any explosives or arms.
As Imran describes it, it seemed like a very long time before the soldiers understood the gravity of the situation.
When the ambulance arrived, Tamaam was immediately brought to a hospital in Beer Sheva in Israel for treatment. The same day, the army had declared a general closure in the whole West Bank until the sunset the day after, due to the Jewish holiday of Shavuot. However, since the unconscious woman was considered a pressing medical case, the ambulance was allowed to pass through the checkpoints. Imran and Khalil were brought to a hospital in Hebron for their head and back injuries, and Rabiha received care on the premises by paramedics.
Police was also called to the scene from the Kiryat Arba police station outside of Hebron. Since Susiya is a so-called "Area C," which means that both military and civilian matters are controlled by Israel, it is the Israeli police that will be in charge of the investigation. The police have collected testimonies from the attacked persons and secured forensic evidence, such as blood on the stones on the ground where the beating took place. Among the evidence that the family has submitted to the police is the video footage of the attack. The recording was done by one of the family members, who was nearby when the attack occurred, and who ran to get the camera in the camp. The family has been given the video camera by the Israeli human rights organization B'Tselem, which since January 2007 has distributed 100 cameras to Palestinian families that are under the threat of settler violence (30 of these have been distributed in the Hebron area). The project is called "Shooting Back" and aims at giving the families a means of documenting settler aggressions, and, if possible, deterring settlers from attacking them. "Luck" is not an appropriate word to use in these circumstances, but the fact that the family was able to record the attack is the main reason why the news has received such significant media coverage. Live documentation of settler abuse of Palestinians is an all too rare feature generally, and the "Shooting Back" project thus plays an important role in raising awareness in this matter.
The Palestinian family now hopes for charges to be brought against the perpetrators, resulting in imprisonment of those found guilty. The family is supported in their efforts to push for a court case both by B'Tselem and another Israeli organisation, Yesh Din, which monitors violations against human rights in the occupied Palestinian territories. One big obstacle in the process of bringing charges against the settlers is the fact that the attackers were masked. The fact that the settlers found it necessary to cover their faces before attacking, which has not always been the case in the past, could be seen as proof that the "Shooting Back" project has managed to arouse some fear in the settler community.
However, those who are the most scared are naturally the members of the attacked family, and their neighbours. To respond to the needs of the Susiya community, the EAPPI, in cooperation with other internationals, has increased our presence in the South Hebron Hills. A few days after the attack, two of the members of the Hebron team spent the night at the camp of the attacked family. We met Imran and Rabiha, who showed us the wounds on their heads and bodies. They, like the rest of the community, were very upset about the occurrences. It was also obvious that they were scared. During the time we spent in the camp, we noticed our Palestinian hosts constantly being on the lookout, reacting to unfamiliar sounds, and often getting up to check the surroundings. The children often referred to the mustawtiniin ("settlers" in Arabic) in their conversations, but when asked directly, would not admit as to being frightened. "No, we are not scared," Bilal, 10 years old, told me defiantly, “but we are angry. To beat old people like that - it makes me want to beat them back, but I can’t!"
The two elderly people who were attacked, Khalil and Tamaam, were staying with some relatives in a nearby village for a couple of days to recover from the injuries when we went to visit the camp. On our way back to Hebron, we made a stop at their place to check on them. They both seemed tired and worn out, reclining against pillows on the floor, surrounded by their children and grandchildren. One activist from the Israeli peace organisation Ta’ayush was also present. It was especially disturbing to see the face of the woman, Tamaam, bruised and swollen from the beatings. It was hard - and not only because of the language barrier - for us as EAs to find the right words to express our sympathy and concern. However, we did our best to explain that the reason for our visit, apart from wishing the two of them a quick recovery, was to collect information about the attack and about the feelings of the Susiya community. To have their story told seemed important both to Tamaam and to Khalil. "Yes, you must write about us!" Khalil emphasised on several occasions during our visit. "The world must know about what the settlers are doing to us!" We left Yatta, saddened by the sight of the bruised faces of the Palestinian couple, but determined to do our best to communicate their testimonies as accurately as possible to as many people as possible.
The EAPPI Hebron team provides protective presence in Susiya and other communites in the South Hebron Hills. We stay with families overnight, especially around Shabbat (Saturdays) and Jewish holidays, when the settlers are most active.
For more information about the attack, please visit the B'Tselem website.
