A-Dhahiriyah, Hebron District: Israeli settlers attacked passengers; soldiers arrested and humiliated them

On Saturday, 28 December 2024, at around 2:00 P.M., Sami (35) and Khaldun (33) ‘Ajlouni, two brothers, drove with their cousin, Salah Hammad (22), from their Hebron neighborhood of Jabel Johar to the town of a-Dhahiriyah, where they were due for construction work. When they reached the area leading to the Yatir checkpoint, their path was blocked by a herd of cattle, led by two armed settlers with dogs. The three waited in the car for about 15 minutes, and when the herd did not move, Khaldun ‘Ajlouni and Salah Hammad got out of the vehicle to try to move the animals. The two settlers went up to them, shouting and pointing their guns at them, then led them at gunpoint up a hill on the side of the road, while Sami ‘Ajlouni remained in the car. He waited there for a few minutes and then drove away, fearing that he would be attacked too. He called the police and filed a complaint with the Palestinian DCO. The settlers pushed and beat ‘Ajlouni and Hammad, knocking them to the ground. One of them hit Hammad on the head with the butt of a gun, causing bleeding. When Khaldun tried to get the settler away from his cousin, the settler hit him on the head with the butt of the gun too until he bled. Meanwhile, one of the dogs bit him on the side of the body, and another grabbed him by his shoe. The settlers then called the dogs off of the two and demanded that they hand over their ID cards and phones, then left. Hammad and ‘Ajlouni remained lying on the ground, bleeding, for about an hour, until some soldiers showed up. They blindfolded Khaldun and put a plastic bag over Salah’s head, handcuffed them both behind their backs, put them in a pickup truck, and drove away.

On the way, the soldiers pulled over next to military jeeps and a military ambulance. The two were put in an ambulance, where they were examined by paramedics, who bandaged ‘Ajlouni’s head wound and gave him an anti-rabies shot, while he was still handcuffed and blindfolded. The soldiers took the bag off Salah’s head, took a picture of him on a phone, and then put the bag back on his head. They stripped the two of their jackets, took off their shoes, and then returned them to the military jeep.

The soldiers then took Hammad and ‘Ajlouni to a military base in Susiya and locked them in a shipping container. They were held in the container until the next afternoon, when soldiers took Hammad in a jeep that drove for about 20 minutes. When it stopped, the soldiers took him out, cut the handcuffs, threw his phone and ID card on the ground, and left him there. Salah called his relatives, and they picked him up and took him to a hospital in Hebron where he had tests and x-rays, received treatment, and was discharged the same day.

The soldiers took ‘Ajlouni back to the shipping container. They brought him sour cream and bread, which he was not able to eat as he was handcuffed, and held him until after midnight, when they put him in a jeep and let him off in a remote hilly area. They removed the blindfold but left him handcuffed and returned his ID and phone. Khaldun walked for about two hours until he reached a house in the village of a-Samu’, where he was able to call his brother. The brother collected him and took him to a hospital in Hebron, where he had tests and x-rays, received treatment, and was discharged after an hour.

Khaldun ‘Ajlouni recounted in a testimony he gave B’Tselem field researcher Manal al-Ja’bari on 7 January 2025:

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The soldiers tied our hands behind our backs with zip ties, blindfolded me with a piece of cloth, and put a plastic bag over Salah’s head, and then they put us in their car. On the way, the vehicle stopped next to military jeeps and a military ambulance. We were transferred to the ambulance, and the paramedics checked my blood pressure, which was very low. I told them I’d been bitten by a dog, and a paramedic gave me an injection and bandaged my head wounds. I was handcuffed and blindfolded the whole time. Then the soldiers took us out of the ambulance, took off both of our jackets, took off our shoes, and put us in a military jeep. We were very cold.

The soldiers took us to a military base. As far as we understood from them, it was in Susiya. They put us in a shipping container that reeked of urine and was very cold. Our hands were bleeding from the pressure of the handcuffs. I started screaming and asking the soldiers for a blanket, and then they brought us small blankets to sit on, because the floor was made of metal and it was very cold. We sat huddled up the whole night to keep warm. At one point, I asked for water and painkillers, and then they brought us fresh water. They only let us go to the bathroom once, after 12 hours. When Salah asked to go to the bathroom again later, they brought him a bottle to pee in. They never gave us any food this whole time.

It wasn’t until the next afternoon that a soldier came and took us out of the container. He checked my blood pressure, which was still low, and asked me if I had eaten. When I answered no, he told the soldiers to bring me something to eat. The soldiers led Salah to a military jeep and put me back in the container. They brought me bread and sour cream, but didn’t take my handcuffs off. The soldier told me to manage like that, but I couldn’t eat. I stayed there until midnight. Then more soldiers came and put me in a military jeep. We drove for about 15 minutes, then the soldiers let me off and gave me my ID card and phone. They took off my blindfold but not my handcuffs and told me: Go home. I found myself in an isolated hilly area, and it was late. There was no one around, and there was no cell service. I walked for about two hours. I was barefoot. I stepped on thorns and bled. The wounds on my head and the side of my body also bled. I stopped a few times along the way because my heart was pounding and I was scared I’d have a heart attack. I was very cold, and I was also scared of running into stray dogs because my hands were handcuffed, and I couldn’t defend myself. In the end, I arrived at a house at the edge of the village of a-Samu’. They took off my handcuffs and gave me clean clothes. I called my brother, who arrived around 2:00 A.M. and took me to a hospital in Hebron. The doctors ran tests and took x-rays, dressed my wounds, and discharged me after about an hour. I’m still in pain and find it difficult to leave the house.