Khirbet Um al-Kheir, South Hebron Hills: Settlers assault Palestinian shepherd with stones

On Friday morning, 6 May 2022, at around 8:00 A.M., ‘Omar Hazalin (23) was grazing his flock near Khirbet Um al-Kheir. Two settlers who were grazing their flocks about 50 meters away started making their way towards him, and Hazalin called members of his family for help. One of the settlers threw several stones at Hazalin, hitting him in the back and hitting several sheep. The other settler started driving Hazalin’s flock out of the pastureland, towards the main road. At that point, members of Hazalin’s family arrived and called the Israel Police. Officers who arrived detained Hazalin and one of the settlers and drove them to the police station in the settlement of Kiryat Arba, where they were both interrogated. Hazalin filed a complaint against the settler for assaulting him and injuring his sheep, one of which died later.

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Israel’s regime of apartheid and occupation is inextricably bound up in human rights violations. B’Tselem strives to end this regime, as that is the only way forward to a future in which human rights, democracy, liberty and equality are ensured to all people, both Palestinian and Israeli, living between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean Sea.

Since the Hamas attack on 7 October 2023, Israel has acted in a coordinated and deliberate manner to destroy Palestinian society in the Gaza Strip, committing genocide against its residents. In light of Israel’s actions in Gaza, the public statements made by Israeli decision-makers, and the international community’s failure to take effective action, there is a serious risk that the Israeli regime will expand the genocide to other areas under its control—first and foremost, the West Bank.
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