The Palestinian Centre for Human Rights (PCHR) condemns in strongest terms the attack by armed Israeli settler gangs on Wadi Rahhal Village, southern Bethlehem in the West Bank as they opened fire, shooting dead a Palestinian civilian and injuring 3 more in addition to destroying property in the village.  The Israeli Occupying Forces then secured those settlers’ withdrawal. This crime is reminiscent to an attack occurred 12 days ago on Jit village, northern Qalqiliya when another Palestinian civilian was killed.  PCHR warns of unprecedented rise in the Israeli state-backed settler attacks on Palestinian civilians in the West Bank.

This crime is part of a broader range of violence fueled by the ongoing incitement campaign by Israeli ministers. Such attacks are propelled by the entrenched impunity and protection for settler violence amid unabated support from Israel’s top political and military echelons. Setter violence is inseparable from Israel’s broader policy to establish full sovereignty over the West Bank and continuing its plan to ethnically cleanse the Palestinians.

According to PCHR’s field documentation and eyewitnesses’ accounts, at around 20:30 on Monday, 26 August 2024, a group of armed settlers, from Efrat settlement established on the Palestinian lands of Wadi Rahhal village, raided the Schools Street in the village that is around 100 meters away from the settlement gate.  This street is a main and lively one used by settlers to access new settlement outposts recently established on the lands of the village and nearby villages. The settlers armed and in plain clothes stood near Wadi Rahhal School for Boys on the mentioned Street and threw stones at houses near the school.  Other settlers started gradually flooding to the same place, totaling 50 armed with pistols and automatic rifles as well as sticks and stones.  As a result, tens of the neighborhood residents gathered in front of their houses trying to defend them from the settlers’ attacks. Suddenly, the Israeli settlers indiscriminate and heavily opened fire at the locals, who tried to keep distance between them and the settlers and only threw stones at them.  The setters’ attack, which continued for 40 minutes and included shooting, has destroyed 2 vehicles and shattered the windows of two houses when shooting at them as well as destroying the water tanks on their roofs.  The shooting has also injured 4 Palestinians, including Khalil Salem Ziyadah (41), who was shot in his back when he was with his relatives in front of a family house in the area. Ziyadah was 50 meters away from the settler who shot him.  All those injured were transported to the medical center in the village after IOF prevented the ambulances from entering the village that IOF

raided 40 minutes after the settlers’ raid and closed its entrances denying entry into the village and securing a safe withdrawal for the settlers. According to eyewitnesses, IOF stood by the nearby Efrat settlement gate observing the settlers’ attacks without stopping them.  After the settlers and IOF had withdrawn, those injured were transported to Beit Jala Governmental Hospital in Beit Jala, where Khalil Salem Ziyadah was declared dead succumbing to his wound.  Meanwhile, the rest of the injuries were deemed moderate and sustained in the lower limbs.

An eyewitness said to PCHR’s fieldworker:

“We saw the settlers opening fire and the one who did was in plain clothes and standing 50 meters away from Khalil Salem Ziyadah (37), hitting him with a bullet in his back when he was with others in front of a relative’s house. Later, Ziyadah was announced dead.  Forty minutes after the settlers’ raid, IOF arrived and stood at Efrat settlement gate, which is only 100 meters away from the incident scene.  They only observed all the settlers’ attacks and then secured their safe withdrawal and provided them with full protection.  IOF had closed all the village entrances, prevented ambulances from entering the village and even hindered providing aid to those injured by settlers’ fire.”

Khalil Salem Ziyadah (37) had a Jerusalem ID card and was a resident of Beit Safafa village. He owned a house in Wadi Rahhal village, his hometown, and used to visit his relatives there.  He was married and had children.

Settlers from Efrat and several new settlement outposts, south of Bethlehem have recently intensified their attacks on Palestinian villages in the area. They have repeatedly assaulted Palestinians and their properties, as one of the cruelest attacks occurred on Wednesday, 31 July 2024, when settlers opened fire on Palestinians and their houses in the village of Khirbet Al-Nahla, near Wadi Rahhal, injuring five Palestinians with live bullets.

Similar to the recent incident in the village of Jit, initial information shows that this was a coordinated attack by a large group of armed settlers, carried out in an area where no incidents had occurred that could be taken as a justification for conducting such attacks, as it is usually the case.

This crime is a continuation of the escalating violence, including killings committed by settlers in the West Bank, which has witnessed an alarming surge in recent months, under official Israeli protection and support, with repeated announcements of arming settlers and forming armed militias with the support of the Israeli Ministers.

Our team has documented the killing of at least five Palestinian civilians by settlers’ fire since the beginning of this year.

It is noteworthy that most of settler attacks occur within Area C, which constitutes 60% of the West Bank, and houses most of the settlements and outposts, and military sites, and is under full Israeli control according to the Oslo Accords. Our staff often face difficulties in accessing these areas to document violations and crimes due to IOF or settlers’ restrictions or attacks.

Most of these attacks are perpetrated under the protection of IOF, who intervene to secure the settlers during their attacks and later during their withdrawal, while suppressing Palestinians who attempt to protect themselves.

While PCHR condemns settler violence, it warns that such attacks may become the norm as Israeli ministers and officials continue to encourage mass murder, with the ongoing 10-month genocidal campaign against the Gaza Strip without any serious deterrence or accountability.

PCHR calls on the international community and UN bodies to assume their legal and moral responsibilities, to take effective measures to stop IOF and settlers’ crimes against Palestinians, and to take action to provide protection for them