On Friday morning, 17 June 2022, while ‘Abd al-Karim al-Ja’bari (64), a father of 12, was working his land in the neighborhood of al-Makhul in Hebron, a masked settler appeared behind him, hit him on the head with a stick and sprayed pepper spray in his face. Al-Ja’bari tried to defend himself and hit the settler on the hand with a stick, causing the latter to drop the pepper spray canister. At that point, the settler picked up a rock and threw it at al-Ja’bari, hitting him in the arm. He also hit him on the head again with the stick. Al-Ja’bari fled with his head bleeding. The settler chased him and hit him on the head a third time. When al-Ja’bari approached the gate of the Kiryat Arba settlement, he called out to a soldier standing there, who started running towards him. Only then did the settler flee.
Meanwhile, police officers arrived at the scene and suggested al-Ja’bari file a complaint at the police station. Two Israeli ambulances also arrived, as well as a Red Crescent ambulance that took al-Ja’bari to hospital in Hebron, where his head was stitched and his arm put in a cast. He was discharged the following day.
On the evening al-Ja’bari was admitted to hospital, about 10 settlers went to his home, vandalized one of the family’s cars and pelted the house with stones for several minutes. Palestinians tried to fend them off by throwing stones, until police and soldiers arrived and the settlers fled. The next day, after al-Ja’bari returned home, settlers attacked the house again. This time too, Palestinians arrived and tried to drive them away by throwing stones. After a few minutes, a police car arrived and the settlers left.
After the second attack on his home, al-Ja’bari went to the police station in Kiryat Arba to file a complaint against the settlers. When he left the station, he encountered a group of settlers who threatened and swore at him, until police officers freed him from their grasp and he went home.
B’Tselem field researcher Manal al-Ja’bari collected the following testimonies about the incident:
The day after the he was attacked, ‘Abd al-Karim al-Ja’bari recounted:
On Friday, 17 June 2022, at around 9:00 A.M., I went to my land to harvest the barley crop. There are steps running through my land that were built for settlers to cross between Givat Ha’avot and Kiryat Arba. At around 9:30 A.M., a settler crossed there. I know him, because he was part of a group of settlers who threatened me in the same place a week earlier. I’d called the police and they’d driven them away. I was afraid he would attack me, so I stood and watched until I saw him enter the settlement, and only then I went back to work. About 15 minutes later, I was stooping down to harvest the barley when I felt a strong blow to the back of my head. I stood up, turned around and saw a masked man in front of me. I recognized the same settler by his clothes. He was holding a long stick, like the handle of a rake, in one hand and a pepper spray canister in the other.
He sprayed me in the face and one of my eyes started burning. I picked a stick up from the ground and hit him on the hand. He dropped the canister. The settler hit me on the head again, harder this time. I was wounded and a lot of blood started trickling down my face. Then the settler picked up a large rock with both hands and threw it at me. I managed to block it with my left hand, but I took a hard blow. I turned and ran away, but the settler chased me and hit me again on the head with the stick. I ran towards the main road, my face covered in blood. I reached the entrance to the settlement of Kiryat Arba and called out to a soldier who was standing there. He started running towards me, and then the settler ran away. I saw about 10 settlers standing near the entrance to the settlement of Givat Ha’avot, 25 meters away, watching me.
Meanwhile, my son Muhammad (26), my daughter Arij (40), my grandson Muhammad (10) and several other people arrived. I saw the soldier talking on the phone and soon afterwards, two Israeli ambulances, six soldiers and a police car drove up. I told the officers what happened and they suggested that after I get treatment, I go to the police station to file a complaint. Then they left. My wife Samira also arrived.
I sat down on the ground, with my face still covered in blood. I stayed there for at least half an hour, waiting for a Palestinian Red Crescent ambulance that my wife ordered. The ambulance came and took me to the 'Alia Governmental Hospital in Hebron. I had X-rays and a CT scan at the hospital, and they didn’t find any fractures in my skull. I had deep cuts on my head, which they stitched up. My left arm was broken and they put it in a cast. I stayed there overnight.
That evening, at around 8:30 P.M., Muhammad called and said settlers were attacking our house with stones. All night long, I worried about my family, especially my little grandchildren. I couldn't sleep. In the morning, I asked the doctors to discharge me. At first, they didn't want to, but in the end they agreed on condition I take responsibility for leaving. I left the hospital at around 3:00 P.M.
I went home. At around 4:00 P.M., settlers attacked the house with stones again. There were about 10 settlers there, some of them masked. The attack lasted several minutes, and then the police arrived and the settlers ran away. After they left, I went to the Israeli police station in Kiryat Arba to file a complaint. I gave a statement and gave the investigator photos of the settlers and copies of security camera footage of the attack on our home. When I went out of the room into the corridor, several settlers were standing there. One settler shouted, "There he is. He's not dead!" The settlers swore at me, came over and tried to attack me. Three officers held them away from me and led me out of the station, and from there I went home. I still have severe pain in my head and all over my body.
In her testimony, ‘Abd al-Karim’s wife, Samira al-Ja’bari (57), described the settlers’ attack against her family:
On 17 June 2022, at around 9:00 A.M., my husband ‘Abd al-Karim went out to harvest barley on land next to our home. I made breakfast, so we could eat together when he was done. At around 10:00, I heard him shouting. I asked my son Muhammad to go and see what was happening. I got dressed and went there, too. I found ‘Abd al-Karim on the street with his face covered in blood. I started filming what was happening on my phone.
A few minutes later, an Israeli police car arrived. ‘Abd al-Karim told them what happened. The officers suggested he file a complaint at the police station and left. Meanwhile, I called a Palestinian ambulance, which arrived about 20 minutes later and took ‘Abd al-Karim to the ‘Alia Governmental Hospital in Hebron. I went home to get the health insurance card and some money, and then drove to the hospital with my daughter Suhair. The doctors stitched up ‘Abd al-Karim’s head wound and put his arm in a cast.
I stayed with him until the evening and then went home. As soon as I got back, at around 8:30 P.M., my grandson Amin ran into the house shouting, “Settlers!” I gathered the kids inside and locked the doors. The settlers came into our yard and started throwing a lot of stones. Some of the stones hit the walls and some landed on the roof. The kids were terrified. They were screaming and crying, and my daughters-in-law and I tried to calm them down. I saw the settlers on the security camera monitor. There were about 20 of them. I saw a masked setter trying to vandalize my son’s car, and some young Palestinians running after them and throwing stones at them to try and drive them away. I called the police and after a few minutes, several patrol cars arrived along with some soldiers. The settlers then fled towards the road leading to the settlement of Kiryat Arba.
After that, a lot of police officers came into the house and demanded to see the security camera footage. After they watched the attack on the screen, they asked one of my sons to go with them to the police station to file a complaint, and he did. That night, after the kids fell asleep, the other women and I stayed up until morning. We were afraid the settlers would return. In the morning, we found a lot of stones in the yard and around the house.
The next day, Saturday, my husband was discharged from hospital. He didn’t want to stay there because of the settlers’ attack. Some relatives came over to see how he was doing and to check on us after the attack. At around 4:00 P.M., the kids came inside and said settlers were approaching. All the guests ran away. I gathered the women and children inside the house and we shut the doors. On the monitor we saw a lot of settlers, some of them masked, throwing a massive amount of stones at the house. Stones were hitting the walls from every direction, and the kids were screaming and crying with fear. Some young Palestinians came to the area and threw stones at them to try and drive them away. I called the police and a patrol car arrived a few minutes later. The settlers ran off again.