Khirbet al-Majaz, Masafer Yatta, South Hebron Hills: Israeli soldiers, one known to local Palestinian residents as a settler, enter a livestock enclosure, kill five lambs and vandalize a mosque

On Monday, 12 February 2024, about 15 soldiers arrived at the community of al-Majaz in Masafer Yatta, some by helicopter and some on foot. The soldiers, one of whom is known to local residents as a settler, entered a livestock enclosure belonging to Khaled al-‘Amur (70) and mixed the adult sheep with the lambs, five of which were trampled and died. The soldiers then handcuffed al-‘Amur and detained him there for about two hours without explaining why.

From there, the soldiers went to the village mosque, entered it without presenting a search warrant, threw Korans on the floor, vandalized carpets, confiscated the loudspeaker, and left.

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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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