Ras 'Ein al-’Auja, Jordan Valley: Dozens of settlers, escorted by soldiers and police, raided the community, attacked residents, fired at them, and stole about 1,500 sheep and goats
Ras 'Ein al-’Auja, Jordan Valley: Dozens of settlers, escorted by soldiers and police, raided the community, attacked residents, fired at them, and stole about 1,500 sheep and goats
Footage of the livestock being stolen. Courtesy of activists
On the night of Friday, 7 March 2025, at around 10:00 P.M., dozens of settlers, some armed, raided the community of Ras ‘Ein al-’Auja in the Jordan Valley. They arrived by car and on foot, firing shots in the air and shouting and spreading panic among the residents. The settlers broke into the families’ sheep pens and stole approximately 1,500 sheep and goats, as well as donkeys and dogs, leading the animals on foot toward nearby outposts.
The raid lasted over four hours. During this time, some settlers stole livestock, while others vandalized sheep pens or wandered around tents and pens, terrorizing residents. Soldiers and police who arrived at the scene prevented residents from pursuing the settlers who had taken the livestock, even firing at them. One resident was injured by fragments and another was arrested.
The following day, community members found 37 animal carcasses in the area.
In a testimony he gave B'Tselem field researcher ‘Aref Daraghmeh, Hussein Zayed, 62, a father of 23, said:
I have lived in Kh. Ras al-’Auja for decades with my family, my brothers’ families, and other relatives. Raising sheep is our main source of income, a livelihood we inherited from our fathers and grandfathers. We live in simple shacks and tents because the occupation prevents us from building anything that could improve our quality of life. My sons are married and live here too, and each has his own flock, which he depends on for income.
In recent years, our lives have become a living hell. The occupation authorities pursue us everywhere we go, and the settlers block our access to all our essential resources. They’ve closed off all the pasturelands where we used to graze our flocks. In the last two years, settlers have established an outpost south of our community and brought their own animals. They’ve started grazing everywhere, even inside our community. We’ve sown wheat and barley many times, but before we could harvest, the settlers let their livestock graze on our crops. They graze their sheep daily, even near our homes and tents. They’ve also set up another outpost north of the community, near the waterfall, and repeatedly chase people and shepherds away from the water sources. The army helps them attack people.
Cartridges on the ground near the robbed sheep pens. Photo: Avishay Mohar, B’Tselem, 9 March 2025
About a month ago, settlers stole 17 of my sheep. These are the same settlers who set up the outpost in the area, led by a settler named Zohar. They never returned my sheep, and some were killed. I found their carcasses near the sheep pens and the road leading to their outpost.
The night of 7 March 2025 was a night from hell. We were all busy with our own affairs, tending to the sheep and the children, when suddenly, around 10:00 P.M., we saw dozens of settlers inside the community. It was completely dark. You couldn’t see anything. You could only hear shouting from every direction. They spread out among the residents’ tents and sheep pens. Several cars surrounded the area, but I think most of the settlers came on foot. Some of them surrounded people, while others broke into the pens and stole everything they could, even dogs.
We were in shock. We had never experienced anything like it. No one knew what to do. They stole my sons’ flocks, my neighbors’ flocks, and those of our relatives. Everyone tried to check what was left. In some pens, all the animals were stolen.
The police and army arrived but did nothing. The settlers led the livestock away on foot, so it would have been easy to chase the thieves and retrieve the sheep, but they just did nothing. More than six families lost their flocks and now have no source of income. These are large families with many children, and now they have nothing.
These armed settlers are simply criminals. Members of the community were terrified. It was dark and chaotic, and it was impossible to tell, as it was happening, who was a settler and who was not. There was shouting and panic. It felt like war. The army and police even stopped people from trying to chase after their livestock or retrieve them. They detained people and even arrested one of the shepherds. We heard gunfire and rushed to take cover. Because of the darkness, we couldn’t see where the shots were coming from. One resident was hit by fragments in the leg.
An empty livestock pen in the community. Photo: Avishay Mohar, B’Tselem, 9 March 2025
No one protects us or our property. What can we do? They want us to leave the area. They don’t want anyone to remain here. They want to take over the whole area and expel us from it.
You know that the entire area is surrounded by checkpoints, and the army is here all the time. So how did they manage to steal our livestock, lead it a long distance, while the army and police did nothing? It’s simply inconceivable.
This wasn’t just a small flock - it’s more than 1,500 animals. I got married here and raised my children here, and some of them are already married and have families of their own. We have never experienced a night like this, a robbery carried out in plain view by settlers. The livestock is gone. People have nothing left. And I don’t believe they will return it. These settlers get support from all the institutions of the occupation, and there is no law or court to give justice to people.
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.