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Israeli settlers attack members of Palestinian family harvesting olives on their land, injuring several, a-Shuyukh, Hebron District

Israeli settlers attack members of Palestinian family harvesting olives on their land, injuring several, a-Shuyukh, Hebron District On Thursday, 3 November 2022, at around 6:00 A.M., seven members of the Mashni family went to pick olives on their farmland located in the al-Majales area, some six kilometers from their home in the town of a-Shuyukh. The party included ‘Ayed Mashni (64), his wife ‘Afaf (61), their children Muhammad (37), Hamed (30), and twins Maryam and ‘Omar (28), and Muhammad’s son Thaer (7). The family left their car next to the grove and began picking olives.

At around 8:30 A.M., three settlers passed by the grove on an ATV. They did not approach the family and left soon after, but returned about 30 minutes later with 10 more settlers, some of them masked and at least two holding wooden and metal clubs. The settlers also brought three leashed dogs with them.

The settlers ordered ‘Ayed Mashni to leave the area with his family and “not cause trouble.” After a short argument, one of the settlers picked up a rock and hit Mashni in the head with it. When the family members tried to protect him, the other settlers attacked them. After a struggle that lasted several minutes, the family managed to escape to their car and drive off. They called an ambulance, which was waiting for them when they got home and took ‘Ayed, ‘Omar, Muhammad and Hamed to hospital.

At the hospital, the doctors stitched ‘Ayed’s head wounds, and Muhammad had platinum implants inserted in his broken right leg and received treatment for dog bites on his left. Hamed, who was injured in the left ear, was treated for a tear in the eardrum, and ‘Omar received treatment for his bruised eye.

Maryam and ‘Afaf drove to the hospital in the family car. A fracture was found in Maryam’s arm. ‘Afaf felt ill and after undergoing several tests, had a catheter procedure. Seven-year-old Thaer avoided physical harm as he hid behind the car during the attack, but has been afraid to sleep in his bed ever since and stays close to his mother most of the time.

While the family members were being treated in hospital, a farmer who owns a nearby plot informed them that the settlers had stolen the olives they managed to pick and vandalized their tractor. On 6 November 2022, ‘Ayed Mashni filed a complaint at the Etzion police. It may seem that this incident can be written off as a rare assault by a gang of extremist hotheads. Yet a broader perspective reveals this kind of violence is systemic, highly prevalent and backed by the state. This is no isolated incident, but part of a policy aimed at dispossessing Palestinians of their land and damage their livelihood. Israel is pursuing this goal throughout the West Bank, with every state system participating – the justice system, the planning authorities, the military and the police. The pogrom perpetrated against the Mashni family is part of this reality, in which Palestinians remain vulnerable and defenseless.

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