On Monday, 15 April 2024, at around 9:00 A.M., while Khalil Mawas (41) and his son Hassan (19) grazed their flock near their home, a settler was grazing a flock about 300 meters away from them. The settler remained for some time and then left. About 20 minutes later, an armed settler known to Mawas arrived from the direction of an outpost established about a kilometer away from his home in October 2023. The settler kicked Mawas’s livestock, broke a kettle Mawas and his son had brought with them, pushed Khalil and grabbed Hassan by the shirt, ripping it. At that point, Jaber (14), another of Khalil’s sons, came running and took his father’s phone to call for help, but the settler grabbed him by the neck and dragged him towards his father. His mother, who saw the settler dragging her son, shouted at him, and then the settler fired a single shot in the air. Hearing the shot, other local residents arrived, as well as 11 soldiers, three of whom are known to locals as settlers, as did another settler. The soldiers had Khalil and Hassan sit on some rocks and forbade them from talking. The settler fabricated a story that the two had attacked him with clubs - which he got from his car. The settler then left, and at that point, around 11:00 A.M., the soldiers took Khalil’s phone and both Khalil’s and Hassan’s ID cards and ordered them to follow them, in their car, to a military base near Yatta. Khalil and Hassan waited at the gate of the base until 4:00 P.M., at which point they were simply let go.
On Sunday, 21 April 2024, three settlers arrived at Khalil’s home, urinated near the front door, poured dirt into a water cistern and attempted to steal a dog. They left after about an hour. Khalil reported the incident to the Palestinian DCO, and Civil Administration personnel arrived after the settlers left and viewed photos and videos Khalil took. After they left, the leader of the outpost arrived, armed, and threatened Khalil not to complain about the settlers’ actions again.
In a testimony he gave B’Tselem field researcher Basel al-Adrah on 6 May 2024, Khalil Mawas, a father of six, said:
In October 2023, settlers set up an outpost of about three tents about a kilometer away from my house. The settler who runs things over there, Matan (Kitzis), grazes his flock on our privately-owned, cultivated lands, armed, and we’re scared to access them. This farm is terrorizing us and our children. Its whole purpose is to steal our land, rob us of our livelihood and disrupt our lives.
On Monday, 15 April 2024, at around 9:00 A.M., my son Hassan, 19, and I were grazing our flock of 70 head of sheep near our house. At that time, a settler whose name I don’t know was grazing a flock of about 200 head of sheep about 300 meters from us, on our neighbors’ land. He left with the flock after a little while. About 20 minutes later, when Hassan and I were sitting on a rock, drinking tea, about 20 meters from our flock, the settler Matan, who’s the leader of the outpost, showed up in his car. He got out of the car, armed, and started kicking our flock. We didn’t move or say a word because we were afraid he would attack us. Then the settler approached us, took our kettle and broke it. We got up, and then he pushed me and then grabbed Hassan by his shirt, tearing it.
My son Jaber, 14, came running, and I gave him my phone to call for help. Jaber started heading back towards the house, but the settler chased him, grabbed him by the neck and dragged him back to us. My wife, Amneh Hmeidat, 37, saw it. She came over to us and shouted at him and then the settler fired a shot in the air. Other residents of the community heard the shot and came over, and so did a car and three soldiers we know as settlers came out of it, and another car with one settler and two military jeeps with about eight soldiers. The soldiers had Hassan and me sit on rocks, each one separately, and forbade us from talking to the other residents of the community, who were standing about 50 meters away from us.
The settler Matan brought three clubs from his car and said we had attacked him with them. The settlers and the soldiers talked, and at 11:00 A.M., the settlers left. An officer took my phone, which Jaber had given back earlier, and my and Hassan’s ID cards, and ordered me to follow them until we reached a military base near the main entrance to the city of Yatta. The soldiers went into the rooms and left us waiting in the car outside the base until 4:00 P.M. and then let us go without even talking to us.
In his testimony, Khalil Mawas also spoke about how he and his family were harassed and threatened in their home on 21 April 2024:
On Sunday, 21 April 2024, three settlers came to our house and urinated next to the front door - rude and disgusting behavior. My children looked out of the windows in terror, and I didn’t know what to do. Then the settlers went to the water cistern that’s near the house, took off the lid and poured dirt in and then tried to steal our dog that was tied up next to the house. I went out and held the dog’s tie-out rope and managed to prevent them from untying it.
The settlers hung around the area near the house for about an hour and kept telling us that this land wasn’t ours and that we had to leave. I called the Palestinian DCO, and Civil Administration personnel came only after the settlers left. I showed them the photos and videos of the settlers that I had taken. They watched and then left.
After they left, the settler Matan came from the outpost, armed, and asked us in a threatening tone why we were complaining about the settlers, and left.