Jamma’in, Nablus District: Settlers attacked two families of Palestinian olive harvesters with stones, clubs, and pepper spray, and vandalized cars

On Monday morning, 7 October 2024, eight Palestinians from two farming families, including an 11-year-old boy, went to harvest their olives groves in the village of Jamma’in. Around 4:00 P.M., about 20 masked settlers armed with clubs, stones and pepper spray showed up and attacked the families, injuring everyone. The settlers also smashed the windows of the families’ two cars. The settlers then left, and the farmers managed to leave the area and reach safety. Some were taken to the clinic in Jamma’in or to hospitals in Salfit and Nablus, where they were treated and most were discharged the same day. One family member, who suffered a head injury, was kept in the hospital overnight.

B’Tselem field researcher Salma a-Deb’i collected testimonies from the farmers on 8 October 2024. Below is a selection:

Khawlah and Ma’an ‘Awad went to the grove with two of their sons, Ahmad, 28, and Muhammad, 20:

Ma’an Hamed ‘Awad, 61, a father of five:

In the afternoon, 20-25 settlers showed up and started throwing stones at us. They were quiet. They attacked us without making a sound. Suddenly, one of them hit me on the head with a stick. I felt blood running down my face, and some dripped on the ground too. Then a few settlers lunged at me, kicked me and beat me with sticks. I felt lightheaded and had trouble following what was happening around me. I felt like I was going to faint.

Then things calmed down. I heard my wife and sons calling me, and I told them I was still alive, but I was still feeling dizzy and couldn’t get up. My eyes hurt too, and I couldn’t open my right eye.

We called my brother, who arrived within a short time, took us to the car and from there to the hospital in Salfit, where I got x-rays. After my head wound was stitched up, I was transferred in an ambulance to Rafidya Hospital for further treatment. From the ER there, I was transferred for further treatment and observation in the ward, and I was kept until the next day.

Sanaa and Nader As’ad went to the grove with two of their children, Mahmoud (24) and Zeid (11):

Testimony of Nader Mahmoud As’ad, 47, a father of five:

I was picking olives with my 11-year-old son Zeid. We were up in the tree. A few minutes later, Zeid said: “Dad, there are settlers here!” When I looked, I saw 15-20 settlers dressed in black and holding stones and wooden sticks. Some of them were masked. I tried to run away, but they were already near us, and we couldn’t make it.

I tried to defend myself, but I couldn’t. About five settlers surrounded me and beat me with sticks. After I took a hard blow to the head, they beat me with sticks all over my body. I saw the settlers hitting my young son, Zeid, too. He was lying on the ground and they surrounded him and beat him with sticks, while he screamed and called for help. The settlers split up, and each group surrounded one of us. They also beat my wife and my son Mahmoud.

After the settlers left, we got up and got into the car. Mahmoud drove, but he had trouble seeing because the settlers had pepper sprayed him in the eyes. I asked him to get out and said I’d drive instead. Mahmoud called my brother ‘Abdallah (40) and he met up with us at the entrance to the village and drove us from there to the clinic in Jamma’in.
At the clinic, they stitched up Zeid’s wounds and mine. Zeid was injured in the head and also had bruises on his back and left hand fingers. Mahmoud had a fractured left shin, a cracked back rib, and a head wound. They broke my wife’s arm and caused bruising in different parts of her body.

From the clinic in the village, we were transferred to the hospital in Salfit, except for Mahmoud, who was transferred to Rafidya Hospital in Nablus. In the evening, they discharged us all.
When we left the grove, we left everything behind. We didn’t take the olives we’d picked or the ladders and tarps. 
 

Sanaa ‘Abd al-Halim As’ad, 47, a mother of five:

The settlers surrounded me, and one of them hit me with a stick in the head, back, and legs. I fell to the ground and passed out. I came to when someone stepped on me several times, crushing my face with their feet, until I passed out again.

I came to when I heard my husband and children, but when I saw them bleeding, with their faces covered in blood, I felt faint again. I felt dizzy and didn’t really understand what had happened. I mustered my strength and got up to my feet, crying.