BBC attacked Israeli settlers on Palestinian Farm at West Bank

Among the broken remains of Brahim Hamayel’s olive trees at the West Bank occupied, we saw the outlook of masked men.

A dozen settlers, below the illegal outpost above their farm and beyond the field, move towards us, move fast and carry big rods.

A sudden and unsafe attack.

The Brahm was showing us the trees that they said that this week was hacked into pieces by the settlers from the outpost.

His family has cultivated olives here on the land near Termus Aya for generations, making it a goal for extremist settlers, who think that the Palestinians will kill the idea of a Palestinian state even by killing trees and livestock, distanced residents like Brahma from their land.

“Fear is natural,” Brahim had told me, looking at the ridge, where Tarplin fluttered some caravan and temporary houses at the lookout post of settlers. “But something stronger than fear that inspires me to live here – the smell of my ancestors and an attachment dating for hundreds of years – even if I pay the price with my blood.”

As the masked men run towards us, we pull back on the road and walk at a safe distance.

Within a few minutes, some neighboring attackers of Brahim of the surrounding fields and villages gather with clan and stones to withstand.

The vegetation of the roadside is installed on fire, its smoke indicates the site of a collision, as a volunteer settling on a quad bike chases the emergency crew, who is trying to reach a farmhouse in the middle of the farm.

This is now a familiar routine. Palestinians living in these villages south of Nablaus say that there are attacks and conflicts on their land every week, and that the settlers are using this type of strategy, which are on the ground, to handle the region by the region.

But the speed and spread of this attack is breathtaking.

In less than an hour, dozens of settlers spread across the hills. We saw that they broke into a separate building, and set fire to vehicles and houses.

The shepherds at the farthest ridge removed their herds, as the hill behind them broke into flames, smoke from many places.

Till then, the Palestinians found their neighbors the main access road blocked by the Israeli army, as the destruction continued.

A Palestinian was allegedly beaten by the settlers, and the army later told us that the two sides had thrown rocks on each other, and the Palestinians burnt tires. It said that four Israeli citizens received medical treatment at the scene.

Amidst the Army’s waiting crowd near the roadblock, we found that Rifa said that her frantic gestures gave a warm smile and way to hug when we used to talk to her.

Rifa told us that her husband was trapped in his farmhouse near Brahim’s Olive Farm, and was surrounded by settlers, but the army did not allow her to pass.

“Those settling every other day do this with us – they attack us, cut the olive trees, and burn the fields,” he said. “This is not a life. No one can stop them. We have nothing to oppose them. They have weapons, we have nothing.”

We later came to know that the settlers had yearned their property, and after Rifa’s husband hit the rocks, her face and leg were left with cuts.

Israeli organization Shanti now, which monitors the spread of settlements in West Bank, says the number of outposts – and settling aggression – has been multiplied since Hamas’s attacks on Israel in October 2023, and Gaza after the war.

Since the beginning of last year, it says, some 100 outposts have appeared in the West Bank. It was also found that in the last few years, using the same violent pattern of scaring hundreds of square kilometers of land – was encouraged, saying, with government support and lack of proper law enforcement by Israel.

Last week, the remote finance minister of Israel, Bezelle Smotrich announced the construction of thousands of new housing units in a large West bank settlement block in the west, saying that it would “bury the idea of a Palestinian state”.

Between 5–11 August, human affairs for the United Nations office documentation of at least 27 settled attacks against Palestinians, resulting in two dozen different communities casualties, property damage or both. These attacks said, due to displacement of 18 houses.

We were not able to talk to any settler in the attack that we saw. The council of local settlers told us that there were elements on both sides demanding that they strongly condemned.

Brahim told us that he had filed two different complaints about the attacks on his land, but some Palestinians here have great faith in the justice or security forces of Israel, repeatedly saying that they protect only settlers.

One of the emergency employees who helped during the clashes on Saturday told me that the Israeli army had prevented him from reaching the spot.

Yahya al-Khatib said, “We were trying to save the youth, when the army came, we were respecting us and asking us to move away from here,” Yahya Al-Khatib said.

“We were volunteers who were inherent to us. We are not to attack or harm here. We want to extinguish the fire and treat the injured. But they [the army] Stop us and stand in our way. ,

The stress between local residents and settlers is complicated by the rapid control of Israeli forces at West Bank, which has seen the evacuation of refugee camps and broader demolitions at the Northern West Bank.

From January to June this year, the United Nations found that 149 Palestinians were occupied by Israeli settlers or soldiers. Nine Israel died by Palestinians.

On Saturday, a few hours after the clashes around Brahim’s farm, another Palestinian casualties occurred in that serious tally.

Eighteen-year-old Hamdan Abu-Alya was shot dead by Israeli soldiers in Al-Mugiyar village, a few miles from Brahim ground.

His mother told us that he had gone to see the fire burned by nearby settlers. “I picked him up for 18 years, and he went in a minute,” he said.

We asked the Israeli army what happened. It said that “terrorists” had thrown rocks and Molotov cocktails in soldiers in the village, and the soldiers “responded with fire to remove the danger”.

Hundreds of crowds took place in Hamdan’s house for his funeral on Sunday, as his mother was taken to his body to say goodbye.

His father, Amin Abu Elaya, instigated to friends and family, said he refused to show Israel to show his tears.

“They thought that if they killed our son, we would leave,” he said. “I will not be able to shout and shout and say ‘Why is he gone?” I am not sad that he passed.

In the local mosque, a hero was welcomed to the body of Hamdan as this funeral was performed for prayer – the huge Palestinian flags were hung with Fatah and Hamas, which were from Ruv and windows; Crowds lining the way to the bye.

In the language of this conflict, each birth and each burial only strengthens the relationship of the land.

Additional reporting by Morgan Gisholt Minard