In the early afternoon of Sunday, 23 April 2023, six settlers arrived in cars and tractors at Khirbet a-Sakut, an agricultural area adjacent to the community of Khirbet a-Deir in the northern Jordan Valley. The settlers attacked Yusef Daraghmeh (40), a local resident who was grazing his cattle in the area. They pushed Daraghmeh, knocked him to the ground and kicked him. A few minutes later, about 10 local residents and 15 more settlers arrived in several cars, and the two groups got into an argument. Some time later, soldiers arrived and separated the parties.
On Wednesday morning, 26 April 2023, two residents of ‘Ein al-Beida, Muhammad Fayez Daraghmeh (50) and Muhammad Maher Daraghmeh (27), noticed settlers driving over cultivated fields and destroying crops and irrigation pipes on their agricultural lands to the east of Khirbet a-Deir.
That afternoon, while Yusef Daraghmeh was grazing his cattle in the same place in Khirbet a-Sakut, two settlers arrived, one of them armed with a rifle, and threatened to kill him if he returned to graze there. Local residents arrived within a few minutes, and the settlers took off.
The next day, 27 April 2023, at around 8:00 A.M., two settlers, one riding an ATV, the other a horse, entered agricultural lands in Khirbet a-Deir while residents were grazing their herds. They were soon joined by dozens more settler who were armed with clubs or firearms. The settlers began trampling crops and beating the shepherds. About 40 residents of the community arrived as well to help the farmers. An altercation ensued, in which the Palestinians shoved, and the settlers beat them with clubs and sprayed pepper spray. About eight of the Palestinians were hurt by the pepper spray or suffered physical injury. Some were taken to a clinic in the ‘Ein al-Beida area and some to a hospital in Tubas.
In a testimony he gave B’Tselem field researcher ‘Aref Daraghmeh on 14 May 2023, Muhammad Faiz Daraghmeh (50) said:
On Tuesday, 25 April 2023, I saw a settler setting up an outpost 200 meters away from my land, to the east of Khirbet a-Deir.
On Wednesday morning, April 26 2023, I went to my watermelon and melon fields and saw the same settler trampling my crops in an ATV. I called the Palestinian DCO, but no one came.
The next day, when I went to my land in the morning, I saw the same settler again in my fields. This time there was another settler with him and a flock of sheep. After about five minutes, they were joined by about 50 more settlers armed with metal clubs, sticks or firearms who arrived in cars and ATVs. The settlers started trampling the crops on my land and neighboring plots.
In the meantime, about 40 Palestinians from the area also turned up, and a confrontation ensued that included mutual shoving and shouting. The settlers also beat residents with clubs and sticks and sprayed them with pepper spray. One of them fired in the air too. Soldiers and police officers arrived but did not intervene. About half an hour after they arrived, the residents backed away, and a while later, the settlers left too. Eight of the Palestinians who were beaten or sprayed with pepper spray needed medical attention. Six of them were taken to a clinic in the ‘Ein al-Beida area and the seventh, ‘Alaa Bayer (51), a resident of Khirbet a-Deir, who got hit in the face by a club, and his son, Muhammad (25), who was hurt by the pepper spray, were taken to a hospital in Tubas where they were treated and discharged the same day.
Ever since then, the settlers have been bringing their flocks into our fields constantly and destroying the crops.
Source: B’Tselem. 15 June 2023
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