Palestine Reports

Elderly Palestinian: I Will Be Buried in My Land and Will Not Leave Despite Settler Attacks (News Report)

Layan Bsharat

12 July 2026 - Updated: 12 July 2026

RAMALLAH

Hebron / Anadolu

** Elderly Palestinian Ibrahim al-Jabour in an interview with Anadolu after being attacked by settlers south of the West Bank:

- Without the Israeli army, the settlers would not be able to enter our land

- They tell me to leave this land, but I answer them that it is my land and I have papers proving my ownership

- Where should we go? This is our land; we planted it, worked hard on it, and irrigate it despite the high costs

Elderly Palestinian Ibrahim Ismail al-Jabour (79 years old) stands on land he inherited from his father in the village of Huwara, in the Masafer Yatta area of Hebron governorate, southern occupied West Bank, and expresses his attachment to his livelihood despite repeated attacks by Israeli settlers.

The elderly man sees these Israeli attacks as attempts to force him to leave his land, but he defies them despite his advanced age, saying: "I will dig my grave and be buried in it."

Hours after he and six of his family members, including two children, were injured in an attack carried out by Israeli settlers on Sunday while they were on their land near their home, al-Jabour confirms to Anadolu his attachment to his land and his refusal to leave it.

Earlier on Sunday, local sources told Anadolu that settlers attacked the al-Jabour family members with beatings and sprayed pepper spray at them, resulting in 7 Palestinians being injured with wounds, bruises, and cases of suffocation, after which they were taken to Yatta Hospital.

** The army protects the settlers

Al-Jabour tells Anadolu: "I was born here, in the place where the outpost was established, and here I became aware of the world, grew up, and was raised."

That outpost was established in August 2025 on Palestinian lands in the village of Huwara, and settlers launch their attacks against the residents in that area from there.

He adds that "an Israeli settler constantly brings dogs and sheep to our land, attacks children and women, and we can no longer live comfortably."

Al-Jabour asserts that the Israeli army provides protection for the settlers when they storm Palestinian lands, saying: "We try to prevent them from entering our land, but the army comes and protects them, and arrests us and detains us for hours."

He continues: "Without the Israeli army, the settlers would not be able to enter our land."

The elderly man points out that he is repeatedly subjected to detention and arrest for long hours by the Israeli army, sometimes under the sun while restrained.

Regarding the purpose of these Israeli attacks, he says that the settlers repeatedly demand that he leave his land.

He adds: "They tell me to leave this land, but I answer them that it is my land, I inherited it from my father decades ago, and I have papers proving my ownership."

He explains that the settlers "want to displace us, but we will not leave."

** Clinging to our land

He also asked: "Where should we go? This is our land; we planted it, worked hard on it, and irrigate it despite the high costs."

Expressing his attachment to his land despite the Israeli attacks, al-Jabour says he plants his land with olive, almond, apricot, and peach trees.

He says: "I will never leave it, and I will dig my grave and be buried in it."

Regarding daily life in the village, al-Jabour explains that his family members take turns at night guarding their homes and lands for fear of Israeli settler attacks.

He continues: "Some sleep while others guard the place, and no one protects us."

Regarding the attack he suffered today, Sunday, al-Jabour says it is "not the first."

He notes that he was also injured by pepper spray to his face on previous occasions.

He concludes his speech saying: "We will stay here and cultivate the land, and we will never leave it. This is a trial, but we are clinging to our land."

** Escalating attacks

A video clip circulated on social media platforms showed a settler spraying pepper spray in al-Jabour's face while he was on his land, causing him to fall to the ground amid screams from his family members.

Masafer Yatta (a cluster of villages and hamlets) is witnessing escalating Israeli violations and attacks that Palestinians say target their presence in the area, where they face near-daily attacks by settlers under army protection, aimed at pressuring them to leave their lands and seize them.

According to a report by the Palestinian Commission against the Wall and Settlement, Israeli settlers carried out 3,488 attacks during the first half of 2026, including attacks on Palestinian gatherings, burning homes and vehicles, shooting at Palestinians, seizing land, and establishing outposts.

From 8 October 2023 until last 29 June, attacks by the Israeli army and settlers in the West Bank resulted in the deaths of 1,179 Palestinians and injuries to around 13,000, in addition to the arrest of about 24,000, according to data from the Palestinian Government Media Center.