WATCH: Settlers sexually harass Palestinian woman, soldiers stand by

Orly Noy By Orly Noy August 29, 2017 | Edit

Settlers in Hebron use loudspeaker to disparage Islam and sexually harass a Palestinian woman in the middle of the night.

The settlers of Hebron have never been known for their manners. This time, however, it seems that they have sunk to a new low — even by their standards.

Last Thursday night, settlers from the nearby settlement of Kiryat Arba approached the neighborhood of al-Hariqah and used a PA system to curse Islam as well as the local Palestinian population, in both Arabic and Hebrew.

A Palestinian volunteer for Israeli human rights organization B’Tselem documented parts of the incident from the window of her home (full disclosure: I am a member of B’Tselem’s board). When the settlers realized she was filming, they began cursing and sexually harassing her using racist and misogynistic language. According to the volunteer, soldiers who were present at the scene did nothing to stop the settlers.

This video should come with a trigger warning, since the language used in it is too despicable to quote:

A B’Tselem volunteer who filmed the incident from her window said the following the incident in a testimony she provided to B’Tselem field researcher Manal al-Ja’bri:

At 6 p.m. I went up to my apartment, which looks out over al-Hariqah neighborhood and the settlement of Kiryat Arba. At first I ignored the settlers’ party, but they turned the music up just when the muezzin called out for evening prayers from the mosque. They started mocking the prayer and insulting the Prophet Muhammad.

I saw a military jeep on the hilltop where the settlers were gathered. There were several other soldiers on the road below, which looks out over al-Hariqah Street that runs by the settlement. I began filming. The settlers began to use foul language and call out obscenities concerning me, Islam, and especially the Prophet Muhammad. The Israeli soldiers and police did nothing to stop them. This was not the first time: about a year ago, I documented settlers swearing, using foul language and calling out obscenities against the Prophet Muhammad while soldiers and police allowed them to continue.”

According to the IDF Spokesperson Unit, the soldiers present “asked the settlers to stop and even called the police. The police arrived at the scene and confiscated the PA system.” The video, however, does not include any intervention on the part of the soldiers.

Orly Noy

Orly Noy is an editor at Local Call, a political activist, and a translator of Farsi poetry and prose. She is a member of B’Tselem’s executive board and an activist with the Balad political party. Her writing deals with the lines that intersect and define her identity as Mizrahi, a female leftist, a woman, a temporary migrant living inside a perpetual immigrant, and the constant dialogue between them.

<p>End of article module for Members</p>

TEST TEST GAL Our team has been devastated by the horrific events of this latest war. The world is reeling from Israel’s unprecedented onslaught on Gaza, inflicting mass devastation and death upon besieged Palestinians, as well as the atrocious attack and kidnappings by Hamas in Israel on October 7. Our hearts are with all the people and communities facing this violence.    We are in an extraordinarily dangerous era in Israel-Palestine. The bloodshed has reached extreme levels of brutality and threatens to engulf the entire region. Emboldened settlers in the West Bank, backed by the army, are seizing the opportunity to intensify their attacks on Palestinians. The most far-right government in Israel’s history is ramping up its policing of dissent, using the cover of war to silence Palestinian citizens and left-wing Jews who object to its policies.   This escalation has a very clear context, one that +972 has spent the past 14 years covering: Israeli society’s growing racism and militarism, entrenched occupation and apartheid, and a normalized siege on Gaza.   We are well positioned to cover this perilous moment – but we need your help to do it. This terrible period will challenge the humanity of all of those working for a better future in this land. Palestinians and Israelis are already organizing and strategizing to put up the fight of their lives.   Can we count on your support? +972 Magazine is a leading media voice of this movement, a desperately needed platform where Palestinian and Israeli journalists, activists, and thinkers can report on and analyze what is happening, guided by humanism, equality, and justice. Join us.

Make a Donation