A settler threatening ‘Abdallah Naser, 13. Still from video footage
On Wednesday morning, 26 March 2025, ‘Abdallah Naser, a 13-year-old from the Khan al-Ahmar school community (Abu al-Hilu), took the family’s flock to graze about 500 meters from his home. Around 9:00 A.M., three settlers, arriving from the direction of an outpost established near the community, approached the young shepherd, who was riding a donkey. One of them demanded ‘Abdallah leave the area, and the other two threw stones at his sheep. At that point, the settler who was talking to ‘Abdallah grabbed him and threw him to the ground. When the crying child tried to get up, one of the settlers kicked him, another hit him in the back, and a third took his donkey. The three settlers then left, taking the donkey with them.
‘Abdallah went home and told his mother about the attack, and she informed the head of the community, who called the police.
About half an hour later, another settler arrived at the community, returned the donkey, and threatened residents not to graze sheep in the same place again. When the settler noticed a local resident, who had filmed part of the donkey theft, recording its return, he demanded she erase the records from her phone, which she did. The only remaining record of the incident is some videos she sent before the deletion. The settler also picked up a cooking knife from the ground and threatened to complain to the police that she had assaulted him with it. He then left.
B’Tselem field researcher ‘Amer ‘Aruri collected testimonies from the residents:
‘Abdallah Naser, 13:
I didn’t go to school today because my dad told me to take the flock out to pasture. I went to an area called Makari Khamis, 600 meters from the community. At nine o’clock in the morning, while I was sitting on the donkey, three settlers came from the outpost located above us to the west, about 150 meters away. One of the settlers said to me: “Get out of here!” and the other two started throwing stones at the sheep.
The settler grabbed me by the shoulder and knocked me off the donkey to the ground. I started screaming and crying, then I got to my feet, but another settler kicked me in the left thigh from behind, and another one hit me in the back.
I saw the settlers trying to take the sheep towards the outpost, but I shouted for help, and then they only took the donkey and left.
M.J., 33:
At 9:00 A.M., when I went out to run some errands, I saw a settler taking a donkey belonging to a boy named ‘Abdallah Naser, 13, and leading it toward the outpost. I filmed it. I didn’t see what happened before.
Half an hour later, another settler came over with the donkey, and I recorded him bringing the donkey back. He saw me and handed me the donkey, and I told him it wasn’t mine. ‘Abdallah came, and I kept taking pictures. The settler told him: “Next time something happens, they’ll take both the donkey and the flock from you.” ‘Abdallah left with the donkey.
The outpost built near the village. Photo: ‘Amer ‘Aruri, B’Tselem
Then the settler turned to me again and demanded my phone. He started speaking to me in Hebrew, and I didn’t understand, so I shouted for help. My cousin came and spoke with the settler. He told him there were no photos on the phone and instructed me to go to our hospitality building. I tried to go, but the settler blocked my path.
The settler took a picture of me and then used a plastic bag to pick up a kitchen knife from the ground. He said something in Hebrew that I didn’t understand, so I ignored it and went to the hospitality building, but he followed me, talking to me. My cousin said that the settler demanded that I delete all the photos from my phone, and then another cousin of mine came, and he also told me to delete all the photos from my phone. I opened the gallery and deleted everything from the incident, but I’d already sent some of it on WhatsApp.
Later, my cousin told me that what the settler said after he picked up the knife was that it was proof that I’d tried to attack him and that he would file a police complaint against me. It’s just a knife I use for cooking that was lying near the house.
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.
