Yossi Schwartz ISL (RCIT section in Israel/Occupied Palestine) 29.06.2025
We can find a report by the daily Haaretz that says:
“It didn’t happen by surprise. Not even in an instant. The dozens of settlers who stormed the village of Malik, east of Ramallah, on Wednesday, gathered in the vicinity hours before they began throwing stones and setting fire to houses and cars. They didn’t just pass by – they came to kill. It could have been another massacre in the village of Duma.” The riots ended with three people killed by the Israeli army that assisted the murderers – Murad Hamayel (29), Muhammad al-Naji (24), and Lutfi Sabri (26) – and seven wounded. One of them was seriously injured. The village says that if the residents had not seen the preparations and organized in advance, it could have ended much worse. When it started, the residents started scaring the children away. The settlers broke the glass, went into the yard, and threw a Molotov cocktail into the living room. A ten-year-old girl was sleeping there. And she was saved at the last minute.”
The settlers had at least 15 vehicles, each with dozens of settlers. They attacked every house according to a plan. They threw a Molotov cocktail. They broke the windows, burned the car, and then went to the window on the ground floor and threw another bottle through it, and even threw a grenade. The villagers came to help.
The villagers reject the Israeli army’s blatant lie that the residents attacked first: “They want us to look like we are armed to justify what they are doing,” says the villager.
After the dead in Kafr Malik were laid to rest, settlers again set fire to fields in the area.
Many residents say that the murderers in uniform entered the village near the attack, but did not prevent it, but instead fired at the villagers who were trying to defend themselves. “The army fired in every direction. We couldn’t understand where the shooting was coming from,” said the relative of the deceased, Lutfi Sabri, “There was tear gas, bullets, and fear.” Six houses were damaged, and five cars were completely burned. The residents vehemently reject the military’s claims that the shooting began from inside the village at the settlers and soldiers: “There was no shooting from the village, we were busy fleeing, saving lives,” said Muhammad Abu Saleh, a young man who was in the area of the attack. “Whoever has weapons in the village is only the army and the settlers.” Others said they were also attacked when they tried to evacuate the wounded: “They want us to look like we are armed to justify what they are doing,” said a young woman from the village, “but the truth is that we have become a living target without any defense.”
Sabri’s relative added: “There is no defense of the army, the army and the settlers are the same. There was shooting from all directions, and we couldn’t figure out where it was coming from. Huge amounts of tear gas suffocated adults and children.” He said, “Despite everything, we remain strong. But there is a fear that the attacks will return because there is no one to protect us. What is happening in the West Bank is a massacre.”
Hamad Abed, a veteran of the village, stood in front of the remains of his neighbors’ burned car and said something similar: “We have no way to defend ourselves. We are completely exposed. At night, we don’t sleep. The children jump at every noise, and my heart trembles every time I hear a car approaching.” According to him, the feeling is that there is no one to turn to. “The army not only doesn’t protect, it supports the settlers. Standing next to them, shooting with them, ignoring our fears. And the Palestinian police are not there. We are alone, completely alone. And that’s what’s most frightening – that you know that any attack like this can happen again and all the time, and each time it can end in another death.”
Yesterday, an hour after the funerals of the three, sirens began to sound from the mosques in the area of Turmus Ayya. These were not regular security sirens, but emergency calls. The voice of the muezzin was heard in panic calling out to the residents of the area: “The settlers are attacking again – get ready! Come protect the village!” A group of settlers tried to raid Turmus Aya and the nearby village of Al Mughayir, armed with stones and Molotov cocktails. They set fire to a field and trees and threw stones at courtyards, but this time the attack was stopped at an early stage. “They couldn’t get in because the young guys were already ready,” said a resident of Turmus Ayya. “Dozens of young people stood on the road with their bare hands and a burning heart. The army, which was dozens of meters away, did not intervene. It was only when we got to fend off the settlers that the soldiers fired in the air. The young people stood there like a human wall. They understood that we had no choice but to defend ourselves.” [i]
For one democratic state with the Israelis and all the Palestinians, including the refugees!
A workers’ government supported by the Fallahin!
Endnote:
[i] https://www.haaretz.co.il/news/politics/2025-06-27/ty-article-magazine/.premium/00000197-b03f-d95c-a59f-febfc5b20000