Kh. Jenbah, Masafer Yatta, South Hebron Hills: An Israeli settler invasion into Palestinians’ fields escalated into a massive settler and army attack on the community involving severe violence, property damage, and arrests

On Friday, 28 March 2025, at around 7:00 A.M., two settlers entered a cultivated field owned by residents of Kh. Jenbah in Masafer Yatta, an area the military has declared Firing Zone 918. The two settlers, one of whom was riding an ATV, arrived from the direction of the outpost known as North of Halawah, which was established within the so-called firing zone. One of the settlers assaulted Maher Muhammad, who was grazing his flock on his land with his 17-year-old son, Ousamah, pushing him to the ground and injuring his nose. The settlers also threw stones at the flock, killing two sheep. Community members arrived to help their neighbors and repel the settlers. Meanwhile, the settlers told the police they were the ones under attack. Maher Muhammad was taken to the government hospital in the town of Yatta.

Maher Muhammad on his land after being attacked by settlers. Photo courtesy of Muhammad

About an hour later, around 8:00 A.M., about 20 masked settlers arrived in the community and attacked residents with firearms, clubs, and stones. They first stopped at the cave where the ‘Amur family live. When the family heard them and went outside, the settlers assaulted the father, ‘Aziz ‘Amur (63), and his two sons Ahmad (16) and Qusai (17) with clubs. The settlers caused severe head injuries to both ‘Aziz and Ahmad, who also suffered injuries all over his body, and broke Qusai’s arm. They then turned to other homes in the community, attacking them with stones.

Maher and Ousamah Muhammad in an ambulance after being attacked by settlers on their land. Photo courtesy of the family

Soldiers at a nearby military post watched the assault but did not intervene. Shortly after 10:00 A.M., when local residents tried to defend themselves and repel the settlers by throwing stones, the army raided the community. The soldiers, some of them settlers known to the community, threw stun grenades at residents, rounded up the men and boys, including some who were not present at the start of the incident, and arrested several residents, some of whom were released that night. Four soldiers were filmed removing a flock of sheep from a pen and leading it away during the incident. Most of the animals were later recovered, except for five sheep that went missing.

An ambulance that arrived during the military raid took ‘Aziz ’Amur and his two sons to the hospital. ‘Aziz ’Amur underwent head surgery.

Around midnight that night, a large contingent of soldiers, including some known to locals as settlers from the area, raided homes in the community again. The soldiers forced residents out of their homes, then searched and ransacked them, deliberately damaging property, including in the community’s medical clinic and school. In the two raids, 25 community residents were arrested, 18 of whom were released overnight. The rest were released five days later on bail totaling 35,000 NIS (~ USD 10,000).

Qusai ‘Amur, 17, said in a testimony he gave B’Tselem field researcher Nasser Nawaj’ah on 19 May 2025:

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‘Aziz ’Amur after being attacked by settlers. Photo courtesy of ‘Amur

I live in a cave in the community of Jenbah with my parents, my brother Ahmad (16), and my sister Handah (13). We’re not connected to the power grid and use solar panels. There’s a school and a medical clinic in the community. We have 20 dunams of land (1 dunam = 1,000 sq. meters) with olive trees and wheat and barley crops.
Since the war began, settlers have been harassing us constantly. They set up outposts in the grazing areas near the community and have their flocks graze on our land every day. They eat our crops and tree branches. On Friday, 28 March 2025, I woke up around 8:00 A.M. and soon after went to the outhouse, and then I saw about 15–20 settlers arriving in three vehicles. They looked young. Their faces were covered, and they carried clubs and sticks made of wood and metal.
They stopped their vehicles about 30 meters from our cave, and some of them ran towards us. Just then, my father came out of the cave, and three settlers lunged at him. One of them was holding an iron rod, and he hit my father on the head until he started bleeding and fell. I shouted at them as my 16-year-old brother Ahmad came outside. Two settlers attacked him with stones and sticks until he also fell to the ground. I quickly ran over to my father and brother to get the settlers away from them, but four of them attacked me with sticks. I tried to protect myself with my hands until one of them threw a stone at my head which knocked me down. After I fell, I couldn’t move.
My mother and sister came out of the cave, screaming and crying, and then the settlers left. I recovered a little and went to my father. His head was covered in blood, and at first I thought he was dead. My brother Ahmad was also bleeding around the head. I helped my mother bring them into the cave, and we locked the door to prevent the settlers from attacking us again. We called for an ambulance and in the meantime tried to stop the bleeding from my father’s head.

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Property destroyed by the army in community homes that night. Photos courtesy of local residents.

I went outside from time to time to try to get help from other residents, but I couldn’t because the settlers were still attacking the village. There’s a military post about 200 meters from the village, and the soldiers there watched what was happening, and even filmed the settlers attacking us.
The attack lasted about an hour. The settlers broke the camera installed at the entrance to the cave, so we couldn’t see what was happening outside. The ambulance reached us only after the settlers were gone and the army came to the village. The three of us were taken to Abu al-Hassan al-Qassem Hospital in Yatta and admitted to the trauma ward.
My father was transferred to a hospital in Hebron, where, I later learned, he was taken into surgery right away due to a fracture in the front of the skull. My brother Ahmad was admitted to intensive care, and I had an X-ray that revealed a fracture in my left arm and various other injuries. I was treated and discharged from the hospital that same night.
At night, while I was still in the hospital, neighbors told us that military forces raided the community, entered people’s homes and ransacked them. When we came home, we saw they’d broken into our cave, too, smashed the door, and destroyed things like electrical appliances, food, and grain. They scattered clothes on the floor and wrecked the kitchen and bathroom.
My arm still hurts from the attack.