A Palestinian shepherd from Khirbet Humsa in the occupied West Bank says dozens of masked Israeli settlers stormed his village at night, sexually assaulting and beating him and his family while stealing hundreds of his sheep.
Dozens of masked Israeli settlers stormed into Qusai Abu al-Kebash’s small village in the occupied West Bank in the middle of the night last weekend, binding him by his hands and legs, stripping him and, he alleges, zip-tying his penis before parading him through the village while beating him. His wife, cousins and father were also bound and beaten, he said, and settlers threatened to rape the women. “It was very, very painful. … I thought they were going to kill me,” Abu al-Kebash told CNN.
Israeli settlers have increasingly deployed violence against Palestinians in a bid to drive them from their homes in the West Bank, but sexual assault appears to be a troubling new escalation. Witnesses, including family members and two foreign volunteers with the International Solidarity Movement, corroborated Abu al-Kebash’s account. “I felt humiliated and insulted. Why would they do that to us?” said the 29-year-old shepherd, who spoke to CNN in his first on-camera interview, his left eye still bruised and bloody.
Israeli authorities, including the Shin Bet internal security service, are investigating the alleged assault and the theft of hundreds of Abu al-Kebash’s sheep. In a joint statement, the Israel Police and IDF said they “strongly condemn incidents of violence and crime.” However, Palestinians have largely lost faith in such investigations, with few resulting in arrests or convictions. Despite fears of retaliation, Abu al-Kebash said he chose to speak out: “I’m sharing my story so the world can see what’s happening.”