In the late-night hours between Thursday and Friday last week, Ibrahim al-Razm was working the night shift as a truck driver. While driving in the area of Kochav Hashahar in the West Bank, al-Razm was attacked by settlers who believed he was transporting humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip.
On Sunday, Ynet reported that al-Razm, from east Jerusalem, remained hospitalized throughout the weekend and continued to receive medical care at the Shaare Zedek Medical Center in Jerusalem.
As a result of the attack, al-Razm suffered from fractured ribs, a broken nose, and pain throughout his entire body. “I am married and a father of three children, and I have been working as a truck driver for more than ten years. I have never hurt anyone – and I have no such thoughts,” he told Ynet.
Settlers attacked al-Razm by throwing stones and ransacking the truck, KAN News reported. They arrived at the scene to block humanitarian aid that they believed to be en route to the Gaza Strip, setting tires on fire and blocking the truck. The truck, the report noted, was not carrying humanitarian aid to Gaza.
Incident among a string of other attacks
Such attacks and disruptions have become common as right-wing activists keep attempting to block humanitarian aid from reaching the Gaza Strip, and this incident occurred days after aid trucks heading towards Gaza were ransacked by protesters, according to Reuters.
Ynet also stated that his attackers clashed with security forces at the scene. Two officers and a soldier were wounded as a result, they reported.
Speaking to Ynet, al-Razm said he “encountered dozens of settlers who blocked my path. They started to take the goods off the truck and burn them, then the truck as well. They thought this was an aid to Gaza, even though I told them the goods were for my work. They took me off the truck and started beating me brutally all over my body.”
“They only did it because I was Arab,” al-Razm continued. He added that there were soldiers at the scene who were unable to control the settlers. He spoke of his fate, saying, “The truth is, at that moment, I saw death. I still can’t believe I got out alive. They could have murdered me and then I wouldn’t have returned to my family.”
Standing Together, a civil activist group working to advance Israeli-Arab coexistence, announced on Sunday its Humanitarian Watch, a term for its groups who are setting out to guard the trucks from the moment the vehicles depart.
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