Khirbet al-Qat (Wadi al-Amir), Halhul, Hebron District: Settlers attacked and injured two Palestinians who were harvesting grapes

On Monday, 24 August 2025, at around 5:30 A.M., Mustafa Milhem, 60, a resident of Halhul, and his nephew A.M., 45, arrived to harvest grapes on their land, which has vineyards and pear trees. It is located in the area of Khirbet al-Qat (Wadi al-Amir), near which the settlement of Carmei Tzur was established.

When they arrived at the land, they saw a settler grazing a flock of sheep in a nearby plot. He told them they were not allowed to be there or approach the outpost that settlers had set up about 300 meters from their plot roughly two months earlier. The settler took pictures of the farmers and their vehicle. The two made it clear that they did not intend to go near the outpost but only to harvest their grapes, and began working. They managed to fill about 15 crates of grapes before about seven more settlers arrived. They were armed with clubs, and one of them was masked.

The settlers attacked A.M., hitting him on the head with a club and causing an injury. He fell to the ground bleeding. Mustafa, who was standing about 20 meters away from him, ran toward him, holding the shears he was using to harvest the grapes and shouting, hoping to drive the settlers away from his injured nephew. The settlers tried to snatch the shears from Mustafa's hand, threatened him with their clubs, then backed away a few meters and began attacking him with stones. Several stones hit Mustafa's body, and one hit his head, injuring him. Then the settlers left the area.

Mustafa and A. managed to get back to their car and drive to the Palestinian Red Crescent Society center in Halhul. From there, they were taken by ambulance to the Mahmoud Abbas government hospital in the city, where they were examined and underwent X-rays. Mustafa was discharged in the afternoon after his head wound was stitched and bandaged, while A.M. was transferred to al-Ahli Hospital in Hebron, where he remained overnight for observation due to the head injury.

Mustafa Milhem, 60, a father of five from Halhul, described the attack to B'Tselem field researcher Manal al-Ja'bari in a testimony he gave on 26 August 2025:

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I live in the Zabud area, northwest of the city of Halhul, with my wife and our five children. I’m retired, a former municipality employee, and I own a plot of land of about seven dunam (1 dunam = 0.1 hectares), with vines and pear trees, in the Wadi al-Amir area (Khirbet al-Qat), which lies north of Halhul. Not far from the plot, the settlement of Carmei Tzur was established.

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On Sunday, 24 August 2025, at around 5:30 A.M., I arrived at the land together with my nephew, A.M., 45, to harvest the grapes. We hoped that if we arrived early, the settlers from the outpost wouldn’t be there yet. But when we arrived, we saw a settler grazing a flock of about 20 head of sheep in a nearby plot of land. The settler approached us and said, "This area is off limits” and pointed toward the outpost. I told him that we were on our land and had no intention of going near it, only to harvest our grapes, and he said, "Fine," and took pictures of us and our vehicle with his cell phone. We went away from him and started harvesting. We managed to collect 15 crates of grapes.

Suddenly, about seven settlers appeared, armed with clubs. One of them was masked. They attacked A. and struck him on the head with a club, and he bled heavily and fell to the ground. I was standing about 20 meters away from him, and was shocked by what I saw. I ran toward him with the shears I was using to harvest the grapes in my hand, in order to deter the settlers and drive them away from him. I shouted at them to leave him alone. The settlers tried to take the shears from me and threatened me with the clubs, and then they backed away from me and started throwing many stones at me. Some of them hit my body, and one hit my head. I started bleeding heavily, and blood ran down my clothes. I was dizzy. The settlers left the area.

I helped A. get up, and together, we managed to get to the car and we drove along dirt roads to a medical center in the town of Beit Ummar, but it was closed because it was still early. We gathered our strength and drove back to Halhul, where we went to the Palestinian Red Crescent Society center. The medical staff gave us first aid, and then we were evacuated by a Palestinian ambulance to the Mahmoud Abbas government hospital in Halhul. At the hospital, they gave us X-rays and a CT scan. The doctors stitched the wound in my head, and I was discharged at 2:00 P.M. A. was transferred to the intensive care unit at al-Ahli Hospital in Hebron, after tests indicated a possible brain hemorrhage caused by the blow to the head he suffered from the settlers. He was discharged after a night under observation.

The grapes we harvested are still in our plot, and I presume the settlers have already stolen them.