The settler attacking Musa Jabarin, then fleeing. Photo courtesy of local residents
The armed settler alongside masked settlers. Photo courtesy of local residents
On Saturday, 1 November 2025, at around 8:00 A.M., members of the Jabarin family from the village of al-Maniyah, southeast of Bethlehem, arrived at their land in the al-Madaq area, northeast of the village and about 60 meters from the homes of the nearby village of Khirbet Tuqu’.
Ahmad Jabarin after his injury. Photo: ‘Amer ‘Aruri, B’Tselem
At around 10:30 A.M., six masked settlers arrived and threw stones at them. Farmers and local residents who rushed to their aid tried to fend off the settlers away, and mutual stone-throwing ensued. After about 15 minutes, more settlers arrived, one of them armed. The armed settler shot Ahmad Jabarin, 31, injuring his leg. When the farmers tried to flee the gunfire, one of the settlers chased after them, assaulted Musa Jabarin, 77, and knocked him to the ground, and then the armed settler shot Bashar Jabarin, 35, who was trying to help him, injuring his leg as well.
The settler then shot at other farmers and injured Yusef Jabarin, 45. The wounded men were evacuated to a hospital in Beit Jala. Bashar Jabarin was discharged the same day; Yusef Jabarin was hospitalized for about a week, and Ahmad Jabarin was hospitalized for about six weeks.
B’Tselem field researcher ‘Amer ‘Aruri collected testimonies from several of the farmers:
Musa Jabarin, 77, a father of eight and resident of the village:
Musa Jabarin after the attack. Photo: ‘Amer ‘Aruri, B’Tselem
On 1 November 2025, at 9:30 A.M., I arrived at our land in al-Madaq, where we have olive groves, to help my sons with the harvest. At 10:30 A.M., six masked settlers showed up and started throwing stones at us and other farmers. Mutual stone-throwing developed between the Palestinians and the settlers, and after about 15 minutes, a settler arrived and started shooting at us. He injured Ahmad Jabarin while I was beside him.
I feared for my life and fled together with other people. While we were fleeing, a settler who was running behind me pushed me and kicked me in the back, and I fell to the ground. I managed to get up and tried to keep walking, but then the same settler kicked me again, in my upper back, between the shoulders, and I fell to the ground again. Bashar Jabarin bent down to help me, and then the armed settler shot him and hit his left leg. Bashar fell to the ground, and some young men carried him to an ambulance that arrived at the site. Later, I found out that he was lightly injured and was discharged from the hospital that same day.
I still suffer from pain in my shoulders and back as a result of the settler’s assault.
Yusef Jabarin, 45, a father of four and resident of the village:
Yusef Jabarin in hospital after his injury. Photo: ‘Amer ‘Aruri, B’Tselem
The stone-throwing lasted about 15 minutes, and then an ATV arrived, and an armed settler got off with five other settlers. I heard gunfire, and then Ahmad Jabarin was injured. I was about 50 meters away from him and saw him fall to the ground.
We started running away because we were afraid of the settlers’ gunfire. While we were fleeing, I was hit by a bullet in the back of my left thigh. Despite the injury, I kept running and did not stop, because I was afraid they would kill me. In the end, I fell to the ground, and young men carried me to a car that was there and took me to the hospital in Beit Jala. Fortunately, the injury was in the soft tissue and not the bone, and the bullet didn’t lodge in the thigh, but there was damage to the tendons in my leg.
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.
B’Tselem calls on the Israeli public and the international community to use every tool available under international law to bring an immediate end to Israel’s genocide against the Palestinian people.
