Mikhmas, Ramallah District: Settlers who invaded Palestinian farmland and worked it attacked the farmers who tried to drive them out, shooting and injuring one and beating others with pipes

On Saturday, 30 March 2024, at around 4:00 P.M., residents of Mikhmas noticed about 12 settlers, one of them armed, working land in the a-Duwara area, less than one kilometer from village homes.

About 20 people went to the plot of land, including the owners and other farmers. They stood about 200 meters away from the settlers and shouted at them to leave. The settlers began going toward them, and the residents wen back toward the village. Around that time, about 20 more settlers arrived, some of them masked and four armed, and went toward the village homes. Other village residents also arrived. Clashes broke out between the settlers and the residents, including mutual stone-throwing, and at some point, the settlers fired live shots in the air.

At around 5:30 P.M., four or five soldiers arrived on foot and fired tear gas canisters at the residents. At the exact same time, one of the settlers shot ‘Usayed ‘Awawdeh, 24, who was holding a pipe and taking part in the mutual stone-throwing. ‘Awawdeh was hit in the right leg and fell, and about 10 settlers then attacked him with pipes and sticks. The settlers assaulted Samhan Abu ‘Ali, 55, who tried to push them away, and beat him on the head and both arms with an iron pipe and sticks. When his son and another farmer tried to defend him, the settlers attacked them as well.

Residents managed to pull the injured men away and take them in private cars to the Palestine Medical Complex in Ramallah, where they underwent tests and X-rays. ‘Awawdeh was diagnosed with a bone fracture and underwent surgery, during which a metal plate was implanted in his leg. Samhan Abu ‘Ali required stitches to the head, and surgery for a platinum implant in his right arm. He remained in the hospital for three days for observation.

In a testimony he gave B’Tselem field researcher Iyad Hadad on 2 April 2024, Samhan Abu ‘Ali, a father of eight, said:

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At some point, I don’t remember exactly when, four or five soldiers arrived on foot from the direction of a nearby outpost. They stood on a hill about 200 meters away from us, watched and fired tear gas canisters, but they didn’t approach us or the area where the settlers were.

By then, many residents had already gone home because it was almost time for “iftar” (the meal breaking the Ramadan fast). The settlers began shooting toward the neighborhood, and I started to draw back. Then I saw one of the young guys, ‘Usayed ‘Awawdeh, standing there and confronting the settlers from about 20 meters away. He was holding a pipe and waving it. Then an armed settler fired several shots, some in the air, and I saw ‘Usayed get hit in the leg and fall to the ground.

After ‘Usayed fell, about 10 settlers ran toward him with pipes and sticks and beat him. I tried to protect him and push them back with a stick, and they attacked me too. More residents came to defend us, and at that moment, one of the settlers, whose face was covered with a shirt, hit me on the back of the head with an iron pipe. I felt sick and fell down. Then, I was semi-conscious and felt them continue hitting me. Later, I learned that my son Moqtadi, 20, had come to protect me and they’d beaten him too, as well as another guy who came to help. At some point, some residents managed to pull us away and take us by car to the Palestine Medical Complex in Ramallah.

Later, I found out that the clashes ended right after we were attacked, because the residents retreated to the village and the soldiers who were there guarded the settlers and escorted them away from the area.

At the hospital, I had tests and a CT scan. I had a deep wound on the back of my head, which they stitched, and they put a cast on my broken left arm. I had surgery on the arm to repair the bones and insert a metal plate. I’m still in the hospital getting treatment. I work in construction and agriculture, and this injury to my left arm will prevent me from working for a long time. I have eight children, and together with my wife, there are 10 of us. I’m the sole provider for my family, and I have no idea how we’ll manage now that I can’t work.

‘Usayed ‘Awawdeh, 24, said in a testimony he gave B’Tselem field researcher Iyad Hadad on 2 April 2024:

On Saturday, 30 March 2024, I saw on social media that settlers were doing work on my land and attacking residents in an area about 200 meters east of Mikhmas. I went there and saw 12 settlers, one of them armed. Later, more arrived, and there were about 30 of them, including four armed settlers. There were about 20 of us at first, then more people came, and there were dozens of us. The distance between us and the settlers was initially 30 to 50 meters. Then it got much smaller. From time to time, one of them would fire live rounds, and we would run away, then come back and throw stones. It went on like that for a while.

At around 5:30 P.M., as iftar time approached, residents started to leave. I stayed, holding a pipe to defend myself. I didn’t attack anyone with it. I just waved it around. The settlers were very close to me, and one of them was armed. At some point, he fired from a distance of two or three meters. I was hit in the leg and fell. I couldn’t get up, and then the settlers pounced on me. One of them also snatched the pipe from my hand. At that point, Samhan Abu ‘Ali came and tried to pull me away from them, and other residents tried too. Eventually, they managed to rescue me and took me to a car about 20 meters away, which drove me back to the village.

My leg was bleeding, and they tied it to stop the bleeding. When we reached the village, they transferred me to another vehicle that drove me toward Ramallah Hospital. On the way, we came across a Red Crescent ambulance, and they transferred me into it. It took me to the Palestine Medical Complex, where they brought me into the ER and did tests and X-rays. It turned out I had a fracture and needed surgery. I was hospitalized, and I’m due for surgery in a few days, on 4 April 2024.