On Wednesday, 16 February 2022, at around 9:30 A.M., ‘Ali Sbeih (28) was taking a stroll and gathering herbs east of the community when a drone started hovering over him. Two settlers then came to the area. One of them, who was on horseback, kicked Sbeih in the stomach. The other threw stones at him, hitting him in the head and leg. Sbeih fell down and the settlers, who saw another Palestinian shepherd approaching, fled. A B’Tselem researcher who arrived at the scene put Sabih in his car and drove until a military ambulance met them. The ambulance crew gave Sabih first aid, and he was taken in a Red Crescent ambulance to Tubas Hospital. He was discharged about two hours later.
In a testimony he gave that day to B’Tselem field researcher ‘Aref Daraghmeh, ‘Ali Sbeih recounted:
At around 6:00 A.M., I went out to the area east of Khallet Makhul to take a walk and gather herbs. There were a lot of shepherds there, and I didn’t know some of them. Suddenly, a drone came near and I lay down flat on the ground, because it scared me. At around 9:00 A.M., two settlers appeared, one on a horse, and came over to me. Far behind them was another group of settlers. The settler on horseback kicked me in the stomach, and the other one came over and threw stones that hit me in the head and leg. I saw the shepherd Yusef Basharat coming towards me, and then I fell down was semi-conscious. The settlers left. ‘Aref Daraghmeh also arrived, and I heard him talking to the police on the phone. I recovered a little, and then ‘Aref drove me in his car to the entrance to Khallet Makhul. There, we met an Israeli ambulance and police officers. The Israeli ambulance crew treated me, and the military called a Red Crescent ambulance that drove me to hospital in Tubas. I stayed there for about two hours and went home. I’m OK, thank God, but I was terrified they would hurt me badly. They are savages and could have killed me.