On Sunday, 24 March 2024, Shadi Hribat, 30, and his employee were working on building a cafe and garden on Hribat’s property in Khirbet Rabud, northeast of a-D’hahriyah (Area B). A few soldiers and an officer approached them, the officer asked what they were doing, and warned them that the following day there would be a settler march in the area and that they wouldn’t be allowed on their property.
The next morning, 25 March 2024, residents of the area called Hribat and reported that settlers and soldiers had entered his property with a truck and crane and were, at that moment, trying to steal a shipping container he’d put there. Hribat and his father immediately headed for their land and spoke to the soldiers present at the scene, who prohibited them from entering. They did, however, order the truck driver to unload Hribat’s container which he’d already taken. An argument then developed between Hribat and his father, and the settlers who attempted to confiscate their belongings from their property. A few minutes into the discussion, the soldiers ordered Hribat and his father to leave and they obliged. Then the settlers also left.
At 5:00 P.M. that same day, Hribat returned to his land to find that the settlers broke into the container and stole some of the items, damaged a fountain and wooden benches, and cut branches off a tree.
Hribat submitted a complaint with the police (a process which required him to come to the police station four different times), and with the Palestinian District Coordination Office (DCO).
Ever since the incident, he fears that if he returns to his land, settlers will attack him.
Shadi Hribat, 30, said in a testimony he gave B’Tselem field researcher Basel al-Adrah on 15 May 2024:
My family and I have a one-dunam plot of land in Area B , in Khirbet Rabud (1 dunam = 1,000 sq. meters). I decided to set up a café and garden for families that live in the area. I got permits from the Palestinian Tourism and Antiquities Authority and funding from an organization called Palestinian Heritage Trail.
On Sunday, 24 March 2024, I was working on the cafe with an employee I hired. Suddenly a few soldiers showed up and asked what I was doing. They entered my shipping container, searched it, and before they left, they told me that a settler march was scheduled to pass through the area the next day, and that I couldn’t be on my property during it. The officer asked me when I’d be finishing up, and I told him around 6:00 P.M. Before they left, I told him that the settlers had no business on my land, that it’s my private property.
The next morning, while I was at my job—I work at a hardware store in a-Dhahiryah—I received calls from several people letting me know that a bunch of settlers were in the area and had entered my land with a truck and crane, and that they were taking my container. I immediately left work, picked up my father, and we drove to my property. We were there within 40 minutes.
When we got there, soldiers started shouting at us. They wouldn’t let us onto our land. My father asked why the settlers were allowed to enter our land, which is in Area B, and why they were taking the container. The officer made a few phone calls, and then ordered the truck driver to return the container. An argument ensued with the settlers, but eventually, the driver returned it. One of the settlers shouted at us, telling us to remove our belongings from the area. The soldiers continued to prohibit us from entering our own land, and after a few minutes, they told us to leave. We complied, and then both the settlers and the soldiers left.
At 5:00 P.M., I returned to find that the settlers had broken into the container and stolen a lot of my things, like lighting fixtures and work tools. They also damaged a fountain I built in the center of the plot, many of the wooden benches, and they cut branches off a tree.
The next day, I went to the police station in Ja’abra (Hebron) to file a complaint, but they refused to accept it, claiming the investigator was not there. I tried twice more, and on both occasions, they refused. Only on 7 April 2024 was I able to file the complaint, and the investigator himself told me not to expect anything to come of it. In the meantime, two months have passed, and I haven’t received any updates.
I also filed a complaint with the Palestinian DCO so that they’ll pass it onto the Israeli DCO.
Since the settlers damaged the garden, I’ve stopped working on the project because I’m afraid they’ll damage whatever I build.