Mikhmas, Ramallah District: Settlers documented smashing windows of house and vandalizing cars

On 23 March 2022, at 1:40 A.M., seven settlers were documented entering the northern neighborhood of the village, smashing the windows of a home and puncturing car tires. That night, the settlers smashed glass windows in two private balconies and a clinic and vandalized 14 vehicles, including a cement mixer truck.

Ten members of the extended Abu ‘Ali family, including two children aged four and six, live in one of the homes attacked – a two-story house. In a testimony he gave B’Tselem field researcher Iyad Hadad on 27 March 2022, father of five Akram Abu ‘Ali (55) recounted:

At around 1:30 A.M., we woke up in a fright to the sound of glass shattering and stones landing on the balcony. People were shouting in the house. I got up immediately, a bit stunned, and went out of the bedroom. My son Yasin (22) was already out on the street looking for the attackers. He came back and said he’d seen seven settlers and they’d attacked him with stones. We checked the security cameras and saw seven masked figures. We knew they were settlers. The attack on the house lasted about five minutes. We were probably the last ones to be attacked.

It was the scariest night we’ve been through. The settlers smashed the windows of three family vehicles, including a cement mixer truck my son drives. They caused us heavy financial losses and psychological trauma, especially to my grandchildren and daughters, who didn’t go back to work this week.

We called the Israeli DCO and reported the incident. At 2:00 A.M., I went to the Binyamin police station and filed a complaint. At around 7:00 A.M., DCO representatives and soldiers arrived. They assessed the damage and took statements from me and from my sons, Yasin and Muntasser. Of course, we don’t believe these settlers will be prosecuted.