On Sunday, 26 February 2023, in the early afternoon, a Palestinian gunman shot and killed Hallel and Yagel Yaniv, two Israeli brothers from the settlement of Har Bracha, as they waited in traffic on the road inside the town of Hawara. That same day, in the afternoon, hundreds of settlers, escorted by soldiers, descended on several neighborhoods in the town of Huwarah and the villages of Za’tarah, Burin and ‘Asirah al-Qibliyah, and carried out a pogrom.
The next day, Monday, 27 February 2023, around 11:00 P.M., about 30 settlers gathered at the Za’tara junction and threw stones at passing Palestinian cars on the road. Soldiers and police officers standing about 40 meters away from the settlers did not intervene. Just then, a Palestinian ambulance drove by. It was transporting Razan a-Rabiya’h (12), who was suffering from severe pneumonia from the government hospital in Jenin to a private hospital in Ramallah. Her mother, Fatimah a-Rabiya’h (35), was sitting in the front seat of the ambulance, next to the driver Mu’tasem’ Abd a-Rahim (43).
One of the stones thrown by the settlers hit the right side view mirror, breaking it. Another stone shattered the windshield, penetrated inside and hit Fatimah a-Rabiya’h’s leg. ‘Abd a-Rahim kept driving and managed to reach the hospital in Ramallah, where Razan was admitted to the ICU.
B’Tselem field researcher Iyad Hadad collected testimonies from the ambulance driver and Razan’s mother:
Mu’tasem’ Abd a-Rahim said in his testimony:
On Monday, at around 9:30 P.M., I got a message that I had to take Razan a-Rabiya’h from the government hospital in Jenin to H Clinic, a private hospital in Ramallah.
I picked up the girl, and because of the settler attacks in Huwarah the day before and the road closures, I took detours on narrow, bumpy roads. The drive took a long time. Around 11:00 P.M., we got to the Za’tara junction, and on the right, near the bus stop, I saw more than 30 settlers. Across the road, to my left, about 40 meters away, I saw soldiers and police officers.
My siren was on, and I didn’t expect them to attack an ambulance. Suddenly, one of the settlers threw a stone at us from close range, and it hit the right side view mirror, breaking it. I sped up, but when we drove by the stop, a large stone hit the ambulance in front and smashed the windshield in front of the seat where Razan’s mother was sitting. The stone went inside, and glass shards flew at us. Razan’s mother screamed. We were all very scared and stressed. Razan screamed and cried, and the medical crew and her mother tried to calm her down.
Fatimah a-Rabiya’h, 35, a mother of four from Meithalun, said in her testimony:
My eldest daughter, Razan, got acute pneumonia three days ago, and on Sunday, 26 February 2023, at 7:00 P.M., we took her to the government hospital in Jenin. She got worse the next day, and she was transferred to the ICU, and at around 9:00 P.M., they decided to transfer her to H Clinic, a private hospital in Ramallah, because the government hospital didn’t have the equipment needed to treat her.
An ambulance came to take Razan at 9:30 P.M. She was in serious condition, connected to a ventilator and a monitor. I rode along with her, a doctor and a nurse. I was very afraid for her life. She was hanging between life and death, and we had to get to the hospital urgently. I sat next to the driver, and the doctor and nurse stayed in the back with Razan.
The ambulance driver took a long detour to avoid the checkpoints because of the settler attacks the day before and the road closures. Around 11:00 P.M., we arrived at the Za’tara junction, and the driver slowed down to cross the traffic circle. Suddenly, we saw more than 40 settlers by the sides of the road around the traffic circle, but the road was not blocked. Everything was lit up, and we saw four settlers at the bus stop. We traveled in an ambulance with the siren on. We didn’t expect to be attacked.
Suddenly, one of the settlers threw a stone at us from close range, about four-five meters. It hit the right side view mirror and broke it, and then the driver really sped up. When we passed the stop, a large stone hit the ambulance in front. It must have been thrown by a settler hiding on the other side of the stop, but we didn’t see him. The stone was the size of an orange, and it smashed the side of the windshield near me and went inside. I heard the glass shatter and saw shards flying. I was very scared. I put my head down and crouched under the dashboard. My face felt like it was covered in glass shards, and they got inside my mouth too. I was worried about Razan because the shards reached the back of the ambulance too. We were all very frightened and screamed. I heard Razan screaming and crying. She understood that settlers attacked us. The crew who were near her and I tried to calm her down. Within seconds, we were far from the settlers.
We were all still very frightened when we reached the hospital. We got through it safely, only thanks to divine protection. The doctors cleaned the glass shards from Razan’s clothes and then admitted her to the ICU. I also cleaned the shards from my face and body, and then I saw that I was also hurt a little on my left leg, probably from the stone that got into the ambulance. I didn’t need medical attention, but I was shaken up. I thank God that we got through it safely, and now I just want her to get better. She’s also shaken up, scared, and she cries whenever she remembers the incident. I hope it doesn’t affect her in the future.