Lifjim (al-Fajam) Community, Nablus District: Settlers stole dozens of sheep, attacked residents, and threatened to harm them if they did not leave

On Monday, 17 February 2025, at around 3:30 A.M., approximately 10 settlers arrived in three vehicles at the Lifjim (al-Fajam) community, east of the village of ‘Aqraba in Nablus District. Some of the settlers were armed with rifles, others with clubs. They entered the residents’ tents, attacked three people with clubs, causing injuries, and stole five mobile phones.

While some of the armed settlers prevented residents from coming out of their tents, the rest entered the Bani Manah family’s sheep pen, removed 48 sheep, most of them young and eight of them adults, and loaded them onto their vehicles. They then threatened community members that if they did not leave, they would come back to attack them and steal more sheep. Then they left.

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Police officers arrived about an hour after the residents called, suggested they file a complaint at the Sha’ar Binyamin police station and then left. Zahi Bani Manah, 55, whose sheep were stolen, went to the police station three times over three days to file a complaint, but officers refused to let him in, claiming there was no one available to receive his complaint. Only after coordinating his arrival through the Palestinian DCO was he able to access the police station in the Ariel settlement and file a complaint.

The day after the incident, Zahi Bani Manah and his family left the community and moved to the village of ‘Aqraba.

In a testimony given to B’Tselem field researcher Salma a-Deb’i on 24 March 2025, Zahi Bani Mana, 55, a father of nine, said:
 

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On 17 February 2025, about ten settlers raided us early in the morning. They broke into the tents while we were sleeping and attacked us with clubs. They hit my son on the shoulder and two friends of mine who were staying with us, one on the arm with a club, and the other in the belly and legs. They forbade all of us from moving, took our cell phones, and stole 48 sheep, while threatening to steal the rest. I went to the Binyamin police station three times, and each time they told me to wait, and after hours of waiting, said there was no one to take my complaint, so I had to leave.

In the end, I contacted the Palestinian DCO, and they made an appointment for me to file a complaint at the Ariel police station. I did file the complaint, but there too, I didn’t feel like the police were taking it seriously. They’ve done nothing since, and my stolen sheep have not been returned.

I have 280 sheep, which are everything I have in this world. They’re my only source of income, and I can’t lose them. Two weeks after the attack and theft, settlers attacked the Ras ‘Ein al-’Auja community on the Jericho road and stole the community’s sheep. When I heard about this, I was very afraid they really would steal all my sheep, and I decided to leave.

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I woke up the next morning, loaded all my belongings onto trailers and left for ‘Aqraba. To reorganize, I rented a shack from a local resident. We had no choice but to leave, to save ourselves and our sheep. I knew there were no grazing areas in ‘Aqraba, and that I’d have to constantly buy animal feed and water for the sheep. It costs a lot of money, but it’s better than staying in Lifjim and waiting for the settlers to come and steal the rest of my flock.

After I left, two families remained in Lifjim: my brother Zuheir’s family, and ‘Awad Nafez Bani Jaber’s family, but they left soon too, following ongoing threats from the settlers.