On Tuesday, 29 November 2022, at around midday, Shaker a-Tamimi (a-Zaru) (72) took his flock to graze on his plot of land, which lies next to his home in the Jabal Jales neighborhood of Hebron, as he does every day. At around 3:30 P.M., three teenage settlers arrived and attacked a-Tamimi and his flock with stones. When he fell on the ground, they sprayed him in the face with pepper spray. A-Tamimi called family members for help, and his brother Rashed a-Tamimi (60) quickly arrived and confronted the settlers. His daughter, Riham a-Tamimi (35), called the police before rushing to the plot, where she found her father suffering from blurred vision and trouble breathing. She helped him get home, and from there he was taken by ambulance to a hospital in Hebron. Meanwhile, settlers congregated on the road leading to the house. Police officers arrived after about an hour and a half. One of them spoke with the settlers, and then accused the family members of attacking the settlers. He threatened to revoke the family members’ work permits, but ultimately did nothing and the officers and settlers left the area.
That evening, at around 9:30 P.M., dozens of settlers escorted by soldiers arrived at the family’s home, used stones to vandalize three cars belonging to the family that were parked out front, slashed their tires, smashed the mirrors and damaged their bodies. When family members went out to defend their property and confronted the settlers, the latter sprayed them with pepper spray while the soldiers looked on. When the family and the settlers started shoving each other, the soldiers joined in the attack on the family, beating some of them with rifle butts and spraying them with pepper spray. The soldiers and settlers blocked the entrance to the neighborhood, and ambulances the family summoned took an hour and a half to arrive as they had to take a detour. The injured family members were taken to a hospital in Hebron, where they were treated and discharged that evening.
The a-Tamimi family is repeatedly attacked by settlers escorted by soldiers and police officers. On 3 April 2022, a settler attacked a family member who was on his way to the mosque. On 20 April 2022, teenage settlers attacked a shepherd from the family with stones, killed one goat and stole another. On 11 November 2022, settlers attacked several family members who had gone to harvest olives in their groves and the volunteers who went with them.
B’Tselem field researcher Manal al-Ja’bari collected testimonies from several family members:
Shaker a-Tamimi said in his testimony:
On 29 November 2022, at around 3:00 P.M., when I was grazing the flock on land next to which the outpost of Giv’at Gal was established, three young settlers came and started kicking the sheep and throwing stones at the sheep and me. One of the stones hit me in the chest and I fell down, and then one of the settlers sprayed pepper spray in my face. I called home for help and my brother Rashed came and confronted the settlers, who ran away. My daughter Riham came after him.
I was having trouble breathing and seeing properly. Riham helped me get home and from there, I was taken by ambulance to Mohammad Ali Al-Mohtaseb Hospital. They ran tests, gave me painkillers and after I insisted on going home, I was discharged at 8:00 P.M.
In her testimony, Riham a-Tamimi said:
The settlers harass us every time we go to our land, and we had to stop the olive harvest in the middle this year because of their attacks.
On Tuesday, 29 November 2022, at around 3:30 P.M., my father, who was grazing the flock on our land, called me and asked for help because three young settlers had attacked him and the flock. I called the police and went to my father. By the time I arrived, the settlers had already run away. When I found my father, he was having trouble breathing and his vision was blurry. I helped him get up and go home, and then we called an ambulance that took him to hospital in Hebron, because we were worried about him. It took the police an hour and a half to arrive. One of them spoke to a group of settlers that had gathered in the area, on the road that leads to our house. We were standing by our house, and then the police officer came over and asked us who had attacked the settlers. My uncle Rashed tried to explain to the officer that the settlers attacked my father, a 72-year-old man, and we sent him to hospital. The officer threatened that if we caused more trouble, he would take away my brothers’ work permits and search our house, and then he went and talked to the settlers and they all left.
We went to the hospital to check on my father, who insisted on going home that night because he was afraid settlers would attack the house.
Shaker a-Tamimi was right. Dozens of settlers came to the house that night and started vandalizing cars in the yard.
Mnawar a-Tamimi (66), his wife, spoke about what happened in her testimony:
At 9:30 P.M., dozens of settlers – men, women and children – escorted by soldiers came to our house and started vandalizing our cars that were parked in the yard and in front of the house. The soldiers didn’t try to stop them, and police officers who were there didn’t do anything, either. I went out with my sons and grandsons to defend our property, but the settlers attacked us with pepper spray and even then, the soldiers and police officers didn’t step in. My eyes stung and I felt dizzy.
Suddenly, the soldiers started attacking us, too. One of them attacked Riham and hit her on the right shoulder with the butt of his rifle. The soldiers also attacked my son Hamed, and when I tried to push them away from him, another soldier pushed me with his rifle. I fell down and nearly passed out. My grandchildren screamed and cried in fear, and my daughter-in-law gathered them and kept them safe in a room in the house. The soldiers and settlers blocked access to the neighborhood, and the ambulances we called could only get through after about an hour and a half, via the neighbors’ private path. The paramedics treated some of the family on the spot. I was taken to hospital along with my son Shihab, who was beaten and inhaled pepper spray. We were treated and discharged that night.
The settlers and soldiers stayed in the neighborhood until 1:00 A.M., and a police car stayed until the early hours of the morning.