IOF military complicit with settlers to aggravate Huwara attack: CNN
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A month-long investigation by CNN exposes the Israeli military for turning a blind eye to the illegal Israeli settlers who set the Palestinian town of Huwara ablaze on the night of February 26, 2023.
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A Palestinian man walks between cars burnt down by Israeli settlers in the town of Huwara, occupied West Bank, Palestine, February 27, 2023. (AP)
A month-long investigation by CNN into the Israeli settlers' attack on Huwara reveals that the Israeli occupation forces not only failed to prevent the acts of terror on the Palestinian town but were also involved in prolonging and aiding the aggression on Palestinians.
The attacks, which took place on the night of February 26, led to the martyrdom of one Palestinian and the injury of more than a hundred. In addition, the illegal Israeli settlers were intent on burning down the properties of Palestinians in the area including their houses, stores, and cars.
The occupation's military commander in the West Bank called it a "pogrom" and admitted that the military had not adequately prepared for such attacks.
CNN based its investigation on videos, testimonies, and interviews which revealed that the IOF troops did nothing to prevent the attacks and even responded to the retaliation by Palestinians with tear gas and stun grenades.
The report also highlighted the role of right-wing extremist groups, settler organizations, and several Israeli politicians in instigating and promoting the violence against Huwara.
Night confusion activities were held across the occupied #WestBank, following a night of Israeli settlers' attack that resulted in the martyrdom of one #Palestinian and the injury of dozens in the town of #Huwara. pic.twitter.com/O3RMHSuLZM
— Al Mayadeen English (@MayadeenEnglish) February 27, 2023
Far-right Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, one of the most senior members of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government, had called on "Isreal" to "wipe out" the Palestinian village of Huwara in the occupied West Bank following the gruesome attack.
WhatsApp groups and social media were used to spread fascist calls for organizing the attacks. Some members of the Israeli Knesset, such as lawmaker Limor Son Har-Melech, were found to be part of these groups, according to CNN.
"Right-wing extremist groups on WhatsApp and Telegram have become ticking time bombs," Achiya Schatz, executive director of Israeli FakeReporter told CNN. "They [Israeli occupation forces] ignored their duty to monitor violent groups and failed to stop the violence during the event. We are extremely worried and uncertain that they are prepared to prevent the next event."
Another Knesset member, Zvi Sukkot, from Smotrich’s ultra-nationalist Religious Zionism party, tweeted, "Huwara’s killers’ nest needs to be taken care of," as he later shared a photo of himself among the settlers who attacked the town.
The Israeli occupation's minister of finance calls to wipe out the #Palestinian town of #Huwara. His violence-inciting comments drew criticism even from the US, as #US State Department spokesperson Ned Price described the comments as “repugnant” and “irresponsible.” pic.twitter.com/W16rX4xopS
— Al Mayadeen English (@MayadeenEnglish) March 2, 2023
An Israeli soldier told Breaking the Silence, an Israeli NGO, that dozens of troops positioned alongside the so-called "Israeli Border Police" were informed of the pending attack on the town, however, none of them took action against the rioters as he said, "We just let them continue to advance."
The violence in Huwara was part of an escalating trend of settler attacks in the West Bank, fueled by incendiary rhetoric and the right-wing Israeli government's support for illegal settlements.
Under international law, the establishment of settlements by an occupying force of its own "people" in the territories it occupies is considered a war crime, however, "Israel", which has garnered protection from the West, continues to disregard international standards and expand settlements in the internationally recognized 1967 occupied territory.
The investigation revealed instances where Israeli security forces failed to prevent the violence, despite advance warnings and calls for action. Illegal settlers were seen setting fires, throwing stones, and attacking Palestinian residents and their properties. Palestinian testimonies and video evidence supported these accounts.
In the aftermath of the attack, Israeli authorities arrested some of the terrorist settlers, only to later release them with no charges filed against them.
The Palestinian Resistance movement, Hamas, denounced the Israeli judiciary decision to release the terrorist settlers responsible for the Huwara murder, confirming the occupying regime's racism against Palestinians.
"The Israeli judiciary’s decision to release the terrorist settlers, who carried out the Huwara pogrom in Nablus, confirms once again the occupying Israeli regime’s fascism and racism against the Palestinian nation," Hamas Spokesperson Hazem Qassem said in a statement on March 4, a few days after the attack.
"The act also shows the regime’s complicity in the crime perpetrated against Palestinians before the eyes of the international community, and thus emboldens Israeli settler militias to exhibit more aggression," he added.
Testimonies from Huwara residents
Residents of Huwara reported that on February 26, a large group of mad mobs invaded the town, mainly from "Yitzhar", a nearby illegal settlement built partly on internationally recognized Palestinian land. Huwara, home to approximately 7,000 people, is enclosed by three settlements, including "Yitzhar", known for its extremist reputation.
Ziad Dumaidi, aged 48, anticipated the arrival of Israeli settlers through word-of-mouth and widespread social media messages, so he took precautions. He purchased water, ensured the fire extinguisher was functional, and parked his car at a friend's house.
CNN-verified videos, geolocated to Huwara, showed hundreds of people gathering on the main street around 6 to 6:30 pm local time.
They set fire to car tires, cars, trash cans, and wooden pallets near apartment buildings, shops, and businesses. Dumaidi's house was engulfed in flames, and with smoke filling the air, he, his wife, and their four children prayed, believing that the events might lead to their death. "At this point, my family and I pronounced the shahada [the Muslim declaration of faith]. We thought it was over for us… there was barely any oxygen," Dumaidi recounted. For more than two hours, Israeli occupation forces just stood there and watched, taking no action when settlers continued to hurl rocks at Dumaidi.
Watch | Israeli settlers destroyed civilian vehicles in the town of #Huwara under protection from the Israeli occupation forces. #Palestine pic.twitter.com/0OZJGNXQer
— Al Mayadeen English (@MayadeenEnglish) March 6, 2023
Footage captured the mob hurling stones at residents gathered on balconies, windows, and rooftops. They also set fire to a parking lot filled with cars, which belonged to a dealership, and a repair shop at the town's entrance.
"They went behind the house and started to burn the cars. They went from one car to the next. I went downstairs and there they were. They fired three bullets at me. They started to chant ‘death to the Arabs, we want to wipe out Huwara,'" said Hana Abu Saris, whose family owns the dealership, in an interview for CNN.
Further down the street, Nawal Dumaidi, a 75-year-old resident and distant relative of Ziad Dumaidi, detailed her experience during the attack as she was trapped in her home with her daughters for three days. Settlers had piled flammable materials in front of her door and set them on fire, making it impossible to open the door. Her son had to return from Dubai to rescue them.
Dumaidi described hearing rocks hitting her apartment roof and landing on the balcony, as well as seeing fire approaching. When she tried to extinguish the flames with a bucket of water, the Israeli military fired tear gas and stun grenades at her. She said, "We were choking on the gas, it was asphyxiating. We could feel our faces burning."
CCTV footage from Dumaidi's building captured settlers, identified by their religious tassels (tzitzit) hanging from under their sweatshirts, igniting wooden logs placed near the main door of her apartment block. Dumaidi's family confirmed the incident, which occurred at 6:27 pm, and live footage from Palestine TV supported this timeline, showing occupation soldiers walking past without intervening to prevent the settlers from setting the fire or making any effort to extinguish it.
Illegal Israeli settlers are storming multiple towns in #Nablus, occupied #Palestine, amid calls within their communities to burn down Palestinian homes in the town of Huwara in light of ongoing assaults against #Palestinians. pic.twitter.com/QxfxEsIXvP
— Al Mayadeen English (@MayadeenEnglish) February 26, 2023
The nearby town of Za'tara, located between the illegal settlement of "Kfar Tapuach" which was built on the ruins of the city of the Palestinian city of Yasuf and Huwara, was also attacked on February 26.
Sameh Aqtash, a 37-year-old aid worker and father of five, was shot in the abdomen and killed. Aqtash's brother stated that 30 settlers invaded their village and residents pushed them away from the town. They later returned with Israeli soldiers, and according to his brother, the settlers started throwing rocks, prompting the villagers to respond in kind.
"Then they started shooting live bullets at us, not tear gas or rubber bullets, live fire from the get-go," he said. "Normally when the Israeli military comes, they protect the settlers. They don’t stop the settlers from attacking areas or burning stuff, they just surround the settlers so no one can attack them. And this is what happened when Sameh was killed."
Far-right government supports settler attacks on the West Bank
According to the United Nations, as of mid-May this year, there have been 421 settler attacks in occupied Palestine, which resulted in the death of eight Palestinians, nearly three times the number compared to last year.
These brutal attacks have also led to hundreds of injuries and property damage. During the same period, IOF murdered over 100 Palestinians in the West Bank.
The attacks in Huwara did not end on February 26. Israeli occupation authorities reported that on March 6, two Israeli settlers attacked a Palestinian man and his family using stones and an axe while they were in their car.
On the evening of March 27, just before Palestinian residents broke their Ramadan fast at home, videos showed Israeli forces standing by their vehicles as illegal settlers intimidated Palestinian residents and threw rocks at their cars. The footage, initially geolocated by Dutch open-source researchers Gabòr Friesen and Chris Osieck and verified by CNN, also showed Israeli forces taking Palestinian into custody with the use of excessive force.
Residents of Huwara state that Israeli soldiers are now constantly patrolling the town, periodically closing roads and forcing shops to close, which has had a negative impact on their livelihoods. While the IOF claim to be enforcing security in Huwara, Palestinians say they are being punished.
An Israeli soldier, in a testimony shared with CNN, described Huwara as a horrific situation, "Until now they burned a mosque and then they burned 10 houses in Huwara, and in the next stage, they will burn half of Huwara — and in the next stage, there will be no Huwara."
