Security Forces Stood By
as Settlers Raided Ras al-Ein
On Friday night (March 8th, 2025), hundreds of livestock were stolen from Palestinian owners in the village of Ras al-Ein Auja in the Jericho Valley. The hours-long theft was carried out by dozens of settlers, some armed, all under the watch of activists from Looking the Occupation In the Eyes (Mistaclim), who filmed the crime and immediately reported it to security authorities—to no avail.
This incident occurred just a five-minute drive from a base of the Levi’ot HaBika Battalion and thirty minutes from the battalion headquarters. Yet despite urgent calls for help, neither the army nor police intervened during the theft. Uniformed forces arrived simultaneously with the settlers—who had been summoned to the scene.
This premeditated raid, involving dozens of armed and violent outpost settlers, reflects a broader ethnic cleansing campaign aimed at displacing Palestinian herding communities from their homes in Area C. Stealing herds is a devastating blow, as livestock forms the center of Palestinian family life as well as their primary source of livelihood. Thus Instilling fear among residents under prolonged occupation.
The attack was coordinated among outpost leaders surrounding Ras al-Ein and Ma`arajat, likely with tacit police and military approval. During the theft, a local Palestinian resident—owner of one of the herds—was arrested by police on theft charges after being beaten with batons by the invaders.. Another Palestinian was injured in his hand from a bullet fragment.
The event began after 9 PM when, according to Palestinian testimonies, Zohar Sabach, a prominent outpost settler, arrived with his herd near villagers’ homes, intentionally positioning his flock close to Palestinian livestock. This is a well-known precursor to false claims of “herd theft”, used to justify raiding Palestinian pens. Minutes later, 15 vehicles and dozens of settlers—some armed, others wielding batons—descended on the area. Notably, this same ploy was used in a prior incident last year, but thanks to evidence from Mistaclim activists, the court dismissed the false claim of theft and set the accused Palestinian herdsman free.
The detained Palestinian herder of Saturday night tried to stop the settlers from breaching the fence guarding his 450 sheep and goats. He was then beaten, and a shot was fired. The herd of 450 head, along with two other similarly sized herds, was forcibly removed. Some loaded onto trucks, most herded northward in the dark toward the Kochav HaShachar settlement. Along the way, settlers caused the death of several animals, while others went missing. Owners’ search efforts failed. When the police were asked to assist in searches and accompany Mistaclim activists who tried to locate the stolen herd, they refused.
After midnight, an officer named Ya`akov called Mistaclim activists, urging them to retrieve stolen sheep near Ma`arajat, close to Sabach’s outpost. Another Officer, Sarit—deputy commander of the Binyamin Police—claimed the sheep were “waiting for their owners” near the outpost.
Mistaclim activists drove to the rendezvous and after waiting for quite a while, Zohar Sabach, another settler and 22 sheep arrived with them. The officer Ya`akov Shahda said to the activists that the settlers did “above and beyond” and that Zohar only took back the sheep that were stolen from him. More was said to the activists that if they wish, they can file a complaint on Sunday at the Binyamin Police Station. And so, The Israeli Police mediated between thieves and victims, effectively thanking the perpetrators for their “generosity”.
Attorney Reut Sha’ar of the Association for Civil Rights condemned the raid in an urgent letter to the regional military commander and police chief, condemning the unprecedented event: “Given this blatant violation of law and institutional complicity, immediate action is required to restore the herds and prosecute those responsible criminally and disciplinarily.”
In her letter, Sha’ar emphasized: “The facts speak for themselves. This was an unparalleled act of severe nationalist crime, organized and coordinated in advance by settlers with state backing—or at best, utter negligence by the authorities. It violates the military’s duty under international law, as the occupying power, to maintain public order, protect residents and their property, enforce the law equally, and prevent war crimes, nationalist persecution, and racist violence.”
The letter added how “The biased action—to put it mildly—of law enforcement in this incident reflect broader collaboration or tacit approval of settler crimes aimed at expelling Palestinian herding communities from Areas B and C in the West Bank, seizing their livelihoods. Since October 2023, dozens of communities have been displaced this way.”.
