Alleged victim
Arab says 2 settlers attacked, robbed him
Police launch investigation after man in his 20s from Umm al-Fahm claims two men blocked him off near Mevo Dotan with their vehicle and began attacking him and stole NIS 1,000; 'They called me a dirty Arab.'
A man in his 20s from Umm al-Fahm has filed a complaint to the police claiming that a pair of settlers attacked him and stole NIS 1,000 shekels from him near the Mevo Dotan settlement in the Samaria region of the West Bank.
According to the resident, who works as a delivery man, the incident took place on Wednesday when he went to the community to deliver a package.
“On my way back I spotted a car that was following me and flashing its lights. I continued to drive and at some point the car overtook me and blocked me,” the man said.
Man who filed complaint
Two men then alighted the vehicle, he continued, and began violently assaulting him.
“One of them choked me and grabbed by hand, the second one kicked me and stole more than NIS 1,000 from me,” he claimed.
He also said that his driving licence and ID card were stolen by the assailants, who simultaneously hurled curses at him and racially abused him.
“They called me a ‘dirty Arab’ and asked me ‘what are you doing here, you dog. How did you get here?’” he recalled.
“I was scared to tell them that I was from Umm al-Fahm so I told them I was from Kafr Qara,” an Arab town southeast of Haifa.
When people began to appear at the scene, he said he managed to escape, but the attackers attempted to continue their assault.
“They continued to chase me and I called the police. Unfortunately, one of the policemen said to me on the phone that it wasn’t his area,” he said.
“I felt as though my life was in danger and suddenly my scooter stopped working. So I was forced to drag it until I got to the road and then a car containing soldiers came by. I signaled them to stop with both hands. They saw me and ignored me.”
Eventually, the complainant arrived at a checkpoint where police were present. They too, he said, refused to help him.
“They wanted me to give testimony and they took my scooter and cellphone as if I was a criminal. They didn’t do a thing in order to try and catch the suspects who hurt me,” he said. “If it was a Jew, we would have seen policemen deploy in all areas.”
Following the complaint, the police launched an investigation. “A serious investigation has been opened. We are looking in all directions, including suspicions of a nationalistically-motivated incident,” a statement said.
