Khirbet Humsa, West Bank
—
Last weekend, dozens of masked Israeli settlers broke into the small village of Qusay Abu al-Kebash in the middle of the night.
They grabbed Abu al-Kebash, bound his hands and feet, and stripped him naked. They then tied his genitals with zip ties and marched him through the area while beating him.
Israeli settlers have increased violence against Palestinians in the occupied West Bank in an effort to force them from their homes. However, sexual assault appears to be a new weapon in these settlers’ intimidation arsenals, representing an alarming new level of violence.
“They cut off my belt with a knife and cut off my boxer shorts. They tied my penis with a zip tie, tightened it, and then dragged me around the village,” Abu al-Kebash told CNN in front of the cameras for the first time.
“It was very, very painful. … I thought I was going to be killed.”
The 29-year-old continued: “I felt humiliated and insulted. Why would they do that to us? Why would they chain people like that?”
Several of Abu al-Kebash’s family members who were present corroborated his account. So did two foreign activists, volunteers with the International Solidarity Movement, who told CNN they witnessed Abu al-Kebash being sexually assaulted.
Israeli authorities are investigating allegations of assault and theft by settlers against hundreds of Abu al-Kebash sheep. He said police and Shin Bet Internal Security Agency investigators visited the village a few days after the incident and went to the police station to give statements.
Abu al-Kebash said he has not been able to sleep since then. There was a wound on his left eye, and it was bleeding.
“I’m worried they’ll come back. I’m worried they’ll kill us in the middle of the night or burn our village down like they said.” he said.
He told CNN that settlers had previously tried to intimidate Abu al-Kebash and his family, but nothing like this had happened.
He said his wife, cousin and father were also tied up with zip ties and beaten that same night. Abu al-Kebash and his relatives said the settlers poured water and dirt on the women and threatened to rape them. It is said that the settlers sometimes beat the children. Two foreign anti-occupation activists who spoke to CNN on condition of anonymity for fear of retaliation said they too had been detained and threatened.
The shepherd said he hopes police will bring the perpetrators to justice and return the sheep that are his livelihood.
However, Palestinians have largely lost confidence in Israeli investigations into settler violence, which rarely result in convictions or even arrests. Instead, Palestinians and anti-occupation activists describe a culture of impunity that pervades Israeli settler communities, with Israeli soldiers sometimes standing by as settlers threaten, harass, and even attack Palestinians.
In a joint statement, Israeli police and the Israel Defense Forces said an investigation was ongoing and “strongly condemn this incident of violence and crime.”
Since 2023, Israel has significantly escalated its military activities in the occupied West Bank, as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s right-wing government seeks to expand Jewish settlements and strengthen Israel’s control over the land in order to prevent the establishment of a Palestinian state.
Israeli settlements in the West Bank are considered illegal under international law.
Israeli settlers have also stepped up attacks on Palestinians and their property, which is an almost daily occurrence. Violence is on the rise again during the war with Iran. According to the Palestinian Ministry of Health, nine Palestinians have been killed by Israeli soldiers or settlers in the West Bank and East Jerusalem since the war began. Israeli human rights group B’Tselem accused Israel of using “a cover for war with Iran” to further accelerate what it called “ethnic cleansing” of the West Bank.
Despite the risks, Abu al-Kebash said he felt it was important to share his story.
“I’m sharing my whole story so that people can see it and the world can know what’s going on. We didn’t do anything to them and they came and beat us and did this to us,” Shepherd said. “That’s why I have the courage to speak out.”
