Jiljilya, Ramallah District: Israeli forces shot and killed an 18-year-old as he tried to recover a flock stolen from his uncle during a joint attack by settlers, military forces and police on three communities in the Ramallah area

On the morning of 13 May 2026, settlers, accompanied by military forces, carried out a series of attacks on three adjacent Palestinian communities: Sinjil, Jiljilya, and ‘Ebwein. First, settlers from the Al-Batan outpost arrived in the Jiljilya area and stole Rohi Shabaneh’s flock. Shabaneh’s family tried to drive the sheep away from the area, but after chasing them for two kilometers [~1.25 miles], the settlers managed to steal the flock. During the chase, four army jeeps arrived in the area, and the soldiers blocked the road, preventing residents from the nearby village of Sinjil from coming to the shepherds’ aid. At the same time, settlers attempted to enter the al-Mikawwas Bedouin community; they were held back by the residents, but later returned with some of the settlers involved in the theft of Shabaneh’s sheep, as well as at least one of the military vehicles that had secured the theft of his flock. The soldiers accompanied the settlers as they entered the community and guarded them as they stole a second flock of sheep, including several lambs, as well as two tractors with water tanks and other vehicles from the community residents. They then drove the sheep and the rest of the stolen property toward the outposts, passing Border Police vehicles that were patrolling the main road leading to the community and securing the settlers’ movement.

Later that morning, settlers stole another flock from a different Bedouin community near Jiljilya, once again while accompanied by soldiers. At the same time, other groups of settlers — some from another outpost in the Gharabah area — accompanied by soldiers and Border Police officers, chased shepherds who were trying to flee with their herds toward ‘Ebwein. Near ‘Ebweins eastern cemetery, settlers and soldiers blocked one shepherd’s path, allowing another group of settlers to seize his herd as well. Shortly after 11:00 A.M., the settlers began leading some of the stolen herds through Jiljiliya, accompanied by soldiers. ‘Ali Ka’abneh and his son Yusef tried to reach the scene to help a relative whose flock had been stolen, but soon, Israeli forces shot 18-year-old Yusef in the chest. He was taken to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead. According to information gathered by B’Tselem, the events amounted to between 650–700 sheep being stolen from dozens of families in the three villages. The following day, only 41 sheep were returned to the residents of Sinjil through the Palestinian and Israeli coordination mechanism. Although the Palestinian side was informed that additional flocks would be returned later, as of the date of publication they have not been returned. A B’Tselem investigation revealed that soldiers played a central role in the attacks; they were the first to arrive in the ‘Ebwein area to locate the flocks, while the settlers arrived later.

‘Ali Ka’abneh, 41, a father of ten, including the deceased, in a testimony he gave B’Tselem field researcher Mohammad Romaneh on 19 May 2026, he described his son’s killing:

I am married and the father of ten children, eight of whom are minors, including my 18-year-old son who was killed, Yusef Ka’abneh. I live in the “Wadi a-Sha’er” area in the northwestern part of the village of a-Luban a-Sharqiyah. We moved to this area right after October 7th, after we were expelled by settlers from the al-Mu’arrajat area, which is on the road between Jericho and Ramallah.

I have a flock of sheep that I rely on as my main source of livelihood.

On 6 April 2026, we were attacked by settlers. Out of fear they’d steal our sheep, we moved them elsewhere: I moved my flock to lands in the town of al-Mazra’ah a-Sharqiyah, while my other relatives moved their sheep to lands in Jiljiliya.

On Wednesday, 13 May 2026, I was where I keep the sheep in al-Mazra‘ah a-Sharqiyah as usual. I usually take the sheep out to graze between 6:00 and 6:30 A.M. That morning, my son Yusef and my nephew T. were with me. We sat in an open field, watching over the sheep. Shortly after we went out to graze, my brother Ahmad called and said that settlers were attacking the Bedouin clusters in Jiljilya and approaching the place where my brothers and relatives were with their sheep. He said he was trying to move some of the flock away, and I told him I was coming. We brought the sheep back to the pen, and I immediately got ready and drove off with my son and nephew.

 

When I reached the road between Sinjil and Jiljilya, at the western edge of Sinjil, there was a military vehicle there with soldiers next to it. One of the soldiers stopped me and told me to turn back and didn’t let me continue towards Jiljilya.

I turned around and drove on an agricultural road that leads to a wadi north of where my brothers were with the sheep. I parked the car, and we continued on foot westwards, to reach my brother. On the way, we passed the first Bedouin cluster between Sinjil and Jiljilya. There was already an ambulance there, and I saw people who had been injured, apparently in a settler attack. I didn’t see the settlers there at that moment. We continued west towards ‘Ebwein, and when we reached the eastern edge of ‘Ebwein, I saw settlers and soldiers about 250 to 300 meters away from us. At that moment, my brother called me and said that the settlers, escorted by soldiers, had stolen his sheep. I felt helpless. Immediately afterward, I saw the soldiers driving locals out of the area while the settlers led the sheep south, toward the main road between Jiljilya and ‘Ebwein.

 

I walked south, towards the main road, but the army was marching in front of the settlers and also behind them, so we turned onto another road that goes between the houses inside Jiljilya, hoping to get ahead of them and try to get the sheep back. When we reached the end of the road, we could see the soldiers and settlers, but as soon as they noticed us, the soldiers started shooting live rounds at us intensively and also chased us.

At that point, my son Yusef was a few meters behind me. When the shooting started, we ran between the houses, and I split off from the group and stayed behind the buildings to take cover from the gunfire. One of the soldiers came onto the same road, and I could hear young men shouting that someone was hurt. I was busy trying to talk to the soldiers and explain that the sheep belonged to my brother, but the soldiers tied my hands behind my back with zip ties and detained me along with four other relatives. They beat us with their rifle butts and kicked us and then led us to the main road and forced us to kneel next to a concrete wall.

We were kept like that for more than two hours. Every time my phone rang, the soldiers beat me. We were let go at around 1:15 P.M. Until that moment, I didn’t know that my son Yusef had been injured. After I was let go, I headed towards my brothers’ tents, and on the way, I called back the people who had tried to reach me. One of them said something about my son having been martyred, but took it back right away. I felt something was off. After about 15 minutes, one of my brothers called and told me that my son Yusef had been killed by the soldiers’ gunfire.

I went to the hospital in Salfit to say goodbye to him. I found out there that he was hit by a single bullet that entered his chest, near the heart, and exited through his back. My son, Yusef, was a quiet and dedicated person. He was the eldest of my sons, and I had planned to build him a house and marry him off within about two years. I was the last person to learn of his death, and I received the news while trying to comfort my brothers after the sheep theft. Within minutes, they were the ones trying to console me.