Over the past two years, B'Tselem Center for Human Rights has documented six incidents in which settlers attacked Palestinian homes in the village of Surif, east of Hebron, causing damage to their agricultural properties and harming its residents.

In its report, the center emphasized that this violence is a result of the protection and policy of the Israeli government, which it supports and under its auspices.

B'Tselem's report said that on Sunday, 2 April 2023, dozens of settlers arrived in the village of Surif and assaulted its residents for three days, protected by the army, which fired tear gas and live fire at Palestinian civilians who were defending themselves.

The organization stated: At around 17:30, two masked settlers armed with pistols arrived at the agricultural land belonging to Ibrahim Ghunaimat (53 years old), while he was grazing his sheep in the area with his son Obeida (15 years old). The settlers approached the two, and one of them threw a large stone at Ibrahim's forehead, causing him to fall and lose consciousness. His two sons, Rami (24 years old) and Ahmad (31 years old), came to the place to help him, and they were assaulted as well, but they managed to evacuate him to Alia Hospital in Hebron, where he was diagnosed with a crack in his skull, and deep wounds were sutured on his forehead and the back of his head. The father also suffered from bruises on his left shoulder and neck, and swelling in his left eye. He was hospitalized for two days for observation. In addition, a crack was diagnosed in the leg of his son, Rami, who was injured by a stone thrown by the settlers, which required her to be cast in plaster.

Meanwhile, about 20 other settlers arrived at the area of ​​the attack, some of them masked and armed with pistols, and soldiers with them. The settlers attacked the Palestinians, who arrived at the site, and threw stones at the neighboring houses. When the villagers responded by throwing stones at them in self-defense, the soldiers started firing tear gas canisters at the houses. Iman Ghunaimat, 30, who was on the roof of her house, was hit in the stomach by a stone thrown at her by settlers. She was taken by a Palestinian ambulance to the village clinic.

The settlers and soldiers remained in Surif, and at a certain point the Border Police joined them as well. During the clashes that broke out between the settlers and the youths of the village, the soldiers fired tear gas canisters at the residents' homes, and the Border Police fired live fire at the youths. At around 20:00, the settlers left the area, but some soldiers remained in the area until the late evening hours.

The next day, 3 April 23, at around 14:30, dozens of settlers, some of them masked, arrived at the village again, accompanied by soldiers. One of the settlers was armed with a rifle and another was riding a tractor. The settlers cut down olive trees and burned them in a field belonging to the villagers, then advanced towards the village houses and started throwing stones at them in front of the soldiers. The village youth tried to fend off the settlers with stones, at which point the soldiers fired tear gas canisters at them. Some of the residents were injured as a result of gas inhalation, and they were treated in the field. Meanwhile, Border Police officers also arrived at the scene and started firing live fire at the youths. The settlers and the army confronted the residents until the evening hours, then the settlers left, shouting and threatening to return and burn the village, as they did in Huwara. Some of the soldiers stayed there until late at night.

On Tuesday, 4 April 2023, at around 4:00 PM, the settlers returned, accompanied by several soldiers. This time, too, the settlers broke down and burned the olive trees in the village fields, and the village youth threw stones at them. The confrontations continued for about a quarter of an hour, and then Border Police arrived at the scene, firing live fire and tear gas canisters at the youths. At this point, the settlers left, and the soldiers stayed there until late, then they left too.

Ibrahim Ghunaimat, a father of seven from Surif, said in a testimony he gave B'Tselem field researcher Manal al-Ja'bri: I live in the Shu'ab al-Sir area, northeast of Surif, with my wife, Laila, 53, and our children: Tariq, 27, Issa, 26, and Rami. (24 years old), Mustafa (23 years old), Osama (16 years old), Obeida (15 years old) and Yazan (13 years old). On Sunday, 2 April 2023, at around 3:00 P.M., my son Ubaidah and I let our sheep go to pasture on our land, about 300 meters away from our house. Everything was quiet until, at about 5:30 P.M., I saw two masked settlers, putting their pistols around their waists, advancing towards us. They stopped about 10 meters away from us, then one of them came closer until he stopped 4 meters away from me. I asked him what he wanted and told him to go from there, but he ignored me and kept quiet. I turned my head to talk to the second settler, and just at that time the second settler threw a big stone at me, hitting me on the left side of my forehead. I fell to the ground completely unconscious.

I woke up in the clinic in the center of the village. My son Ahmad was there and told me that he took me to the clinic after Ubaida told him about the settlers' attack. He said that when they arrived, Rami found me lying on the ground. At the clinic, they gave me first aid, stopped the bleeding, and then took me in an ambulance to Alia Governmental Hospital. They did a head CT scan and found a crack in the skull. I also had a deep wound in the forehead and a wound in the back of the head and they sutured them, in addition to bruises on my left shoulder and neck and swelling in my left eye. The doctors kept me in the hospital for two days for observation.

Rami Ghunaimat, a resident of Surif, said in his testimony: On Sunday, 2 April 2023, at around 15:00, my father and Ubaida let our sheep go to pasture on our land. I was in my room facing the floor. At about 17:30, I heard Obeida screaming for help. I looked out the window and saw two masked settlers at the top of the hill.

He added: I quickly left the house with my brother Ahmed in his pickup truck. Ahmed dropped me off next to the vineyard, and when I got to my father, I found him lying unconscious on the ground, his face covered in blood. Obeida and I tried to get him out of there, but the two settlers threw stones at us. I was hit by a large stone in my left leg, but I ignored it and managed to get my father away to the pickup truck and Ahmed took him to the clinic in the village.

He continued: I stayed there, and in the meantime a few other residents of the village arrived. Meanwhile, more than 30 settlers, aged between 20 and 30, came, some of them masked and others carrying weapons. They were accompanied by soldiers. The settlers started throwing stones at the houses. The residents threw stones at them in self-defence, and the soldiers responded by firing tear gas canisters at the houses. Iman Ghunaimat, 30, who was on the roof of her house, was hit by a stone in her stomach and taken by ambulance to the village clinic.

The next day, 3 April 2023, at around 14:30, dozens of settlers came to the village again, some of them masked. This time, too, they were accompanied by soldiers. They entered the land of Mustafa Jamil Ghunaimat (50 years old) and started smashing and burning olive trees and throwing stones at houses in full view of the soldiers, who did nothing.

The village youth tried to stop the settlers by throwing stones at them, and then the soldiers fired tear gas canisters at the village and doused it with gas. Some of the people suffocated and were treated in the field. Several Border Police officers also arrived and fired live fire at the young men. Clashes with settlers and the Israeli army continued until approximately 20:00. After that, the settlers left, but threatened that they would return and burn the village, as they did in Huwara. Some of the soldiers stayed in the village until 23:00.

On Tuesday, 4 April 2023, at around 4:00 PM, the settlers returned, accompanied by several soldiers. They broke and burned olive trees, and the village youth threw stones at them. I heard shooting, and I didn't know who was shooting, whether it was a soldier or a settler. The confrontations lasted about a quarter of an hour, until the Border Police arrived and fired live fire and tear gas canisters at the youths. After that, they removed the settlers, and the soldiers stayed there until about 19:30.

The next day, 3 April 2023, at around 14:30, dozens of adult settlers, some of them masked, came to our area, accompanied by soldiers. The settlers started destroying and burning olive trees in the orchard of Mustafa Jamil Ghunaimat, about 200 meters away from our house. The soldiers did not stop the settlers, so they advanced towards our homes and started throwing stones at them. The villagers tried to stop the settlers by throwing stones, at which point the soldiers started firing tear gas canisters at the residents, and the Border Police arrived, who also fired live fire. One of the teargas bombs fell on the stairs leading to our house. Gas flowed into the house and my children started choking. They cried and screamed and did not calm down until we were able to ventilate the house.