‘Azmut, Nablus District: Armed settlers attacked Palestinians who were putting out a fire and shot one in the leg

On Saturday, 18 May 2024, at around 1:30 P.M., a fire broke out in olive groves belonging to the ‘Alawneh family northeast of the town of ‘Azmut. Several members of the family went to put out the fire.

Around 3:30 P.M., while the family and other residents were still working on extinguishing the fire, about 30 settlers arrived with a military escort. They initially remained about 500 meters away from the farmland. Then the settlers, some armed with sticks and others carrying firearms and leaf blowers, went over and started shoving and attacking the family. Several settlers assaulted Ahmad Muhammad ‘Alawneh (24) and hit him all over his body. His cousin Ahmad Fathi ‘Alawneh (21) threatened them with a stone, and then one of the settlers shot him in the thigh. He was taken to Rafidya Hospital, where it was found the bullet had entered and exited without damaging any arteries or breaking any bones. ‘Alawneh was kept in the hospital for several days and then discharged.

After the shooting, the family left the area, and the settlers remained for a while before leaving.

B’Tselem field researcher Salma a-Deb’i collected testimonies from two family members on the day of the incident:

Ahmad Fathi ‘Alawneh, 21, spoke about being shot and injured by the settler:

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On Saturday, 18 May 2024, at around 1:30 P.M., while I was at work in the village, I found out there was a fire on our land in the northeastern part of town, where we have five dunams of olive groves.

I went out there with my brother Fadi, 36, and some of our cousins in a car. We parked at the edge of the dirt road and continued on foot. The fire had already spread to several plots, and we started putting it out by hitting the olive and almond branches. Meanwhile, other residents arrived to help. Because the land was plowed, our plot wasn’t too badly damaged, so we went over to put out the fire in the next plot.

Around 3:30 P.M., I saw about 30 settlers standing about 500 meters away from us with several soldiers. The settlers walked over to us, some of them holding sticks, leaf blowers and fire extinguishers. They began attacking the residents with what they were holding. We backed away to avoid a confrontation with them.

But then I saw the settlers beating my cousin, Ahmad Muhammad ‘Alawneh, 24, with fire extinguishers. I picked up a stone to get them to back off, and then one of the settlers pulled out a gun and pointed it at me. I threw the stone on the ground and put my hands up, and then I turned to run and heard three shots. I kept walking without stopping, and then I felt that I was bleeding; my leg hurt, and I felt weak. I didn’t realize until then that I’d been hurt. Some guys picked me up and took me to the nearest car, which brought me to an ambulance we met on the way. The ambulance took me to Rafidya Hospital in Nablus, where they ran tests and took X-rays, and it turned out the bullet entered the inner side of the thigh and exited the outer side, and there were no fractures or damage to the arteries. I was kept in the hospital for a few days for treatment and then I was discharged.

Ahmad Muhammad ‘Alawneh, 24, described being attacked by the settlers:

On Saturday, 18 May 2024, at around 1:30 P.M., while I was at home in the center of ‘Azmut, my cousin Fadi called me and told me that there was a fire in our land northeast of the village. We have five dunams there with about 120 olive trees. We didn’t know who started the fire. I went there, and on the way, I met up with my cousins, Fadi and Ahmad ‘Alawneh. When we reached the land, we discovered that the fire had spread to other plots and caused damage. We put out the fire in our plot and then went over to the adjacent plot to help our neighbors put out the fire in theirs. We kept going from plot to plot like that.

Around 3:30 P.M., about 30 settlers suddenly showed up. Some of them had sticks and others had leaf blowers. I also saw two settlers armed with rifles and some others who had handguns in belt holsters. The settlers began pushing residents and pointing the leaf blowers at them. I also saw soldiers on the road, which is 500 meters away (near the settlement) from the land where we were.

I asked the villages to back up to avoid a confrontation with them. I told the settlers in Hebrew that we were leaving and to stop making trouble. One of them pushed me until I fell, then hit me with his stick all over my body, and then two more settlers joined him. My cousin Ahmad picked up a stone to get the settlers to back away from me, but one of them pulled out a gun and pointed it at him. He immediately dropped the stone on the ground and turned around to get away, but the settler fired three bullets. Ahmad kept walking, and I thought he was okay. I also backed away, but after a short time, I saw Ahmad was bleeding from his thigh, and I told him he was injured. Ahmad stopped and went pale. We tied a piece of cloth around his upper thigh and took him to the road, to the nearest car. We transferred him to an ambulance we met on the way, which took him to Rafidya Hospital. He had tests and X-rays there, and it turned out the bullet did not hit the arteries or the bone. He was kept in hospital for treatment and then discharged.