Mohammed Hassan, 21, and a group of local construction workers were bringing an end to their work for the day on Saturday afternoon, not long before sunset. They were working on Mohammed’s new home and it had been undergoing construction for quite some time. The house is located on the outskirts of the village of Qusra, in the northern occupied West Bank. Then the group was unexpectedly under attack by armed Israeli settlers.
“Dozens of armed Israeli settlers descended onto the area around the house, jumping through the fields and concealing themselves behind the olive groves,” Murad Adbelhamid Hassan, 44, Mohammed’s uncle, told Middle East Eye.
“They started throwing rocks at the house and the guys, and were attempting to break into the house,” Murad said, adding that just a few minutes after the settlers began their attack, a group of Israeli soldiers arrived in the area.
“The soldiers surrounded the house and completely blocked it off, not letting anyone in or out of the area as they watched the settlers continue the attack,” said Murad, who along with dozens of family members and neighbors, had by this point arrived in the area to try and intervene.
“Some of the workers managed to escape, but one of them was shot in the leg with a rubber bullet,” Murad said.
Meanwhile the settlers sustained constant barrage of rocks at the house. Mohammed locked the doors and went up to the rooftop, where he started throwing rocks at the settlers to defend his house and push the settlers back.
“We always hoped this would never happen to our family, but it was always a possibility. Living close to the settlement is very dangerous, especially in the past 10 years, as we’ve seen them grow more and more aggressive,” Murad said.
“Even the doctors and nurses from the town came and showed the soldiers their credentials, but they wouldn’t let them in to give first aid to Mohammed,” Murad said.
The Israeli soldiers moved Mohammed’s body from the rooftop only after an Israeli ambulance arrived before they brought him to an Israeli hospital. The family was notified many hours later that Mohammed had succumbed to his injuries. As of Sunday afternoon, Israeli authorities had still not returned Mohammed’s body to his family in Qusra.
“We have been trying to coordinate with the Palestinian authorities and the Israelis, but they are still refusing to return his body,” Murad said. “They are claiming that Mohammed attacked the settlers, and that’s why they’re holding his body.”
“Mohammed was only defending himself and his home, and they killed him for it, and are now accusing him of a crime,” Murad said. “It is cruel.”
Settler attacks against Palestinians rose significantly in 2020, with experts documenting 771 incidents of settler violence, causing injuries to 133 Palestinians and damaging 9,646 trees and 184 vehicles, according to data from the UN.