Last Wednesday, after nine days in custody, an Israeli military judge ordered the release of Hafez Hureini, a Palestinian farmer from the occupied South Hebron Hills who had his arms broken by settlers as they attacked him on his land last week.

The attack took place in Masafer Yatta, an area that is home to Palestinian villages facing expulsion after Israel’s Supreme Court ruled this year that the residents could be deported. Hureini is from the village A-Tuwani, which has been at the forefront of the nonviolent resistance to the occupation in the area, and thus has become a target for both the army and settlers.

“I was staring death in the face,” Hureini told the court this week. “[The settlers] were young, strong, masked. I am 52 years old, I do not believe in violence and I raised my children to be against violence.”

Initially, the Israeli media bought the settlers’ narrative, which painted the event as a “lynching” of Israelis by dozens of Palestinians. Yet, following an investigation by +972’s Basil Adra and Yuval Abraham, a completely different picture began to emerge. A video of the entire incident revealed that armed and masked settlers approached and attacked Hureini, who was working his land alongside a few other Palestinian farmers. Adra and Abraham’s investigation found that even according to the army’s records, the confrontation took place on a plot of land that is privately owned by Hureini.

The 23-minute video — which clearly shows settlers coming from the direction of the nearby Havat Ma’on outpost that is notorious for its violence, approaching Hureini, attacking him, and then fleeing — completely changed how both the military judge and the Israeli public perceived the incident.

While Hureini was almost immediately arrested, not a single settler has been taken into custody. Among the attackers was a settler who took part in the pogrom on Mufagara last year, during which settlers rampaged through the hamlet, wounding a three-year-old Palestinian boy in the head. The settler was arrested and interrogated, but was never indicted.

After three hearings at Ofer Military Court last week, it became clear that the police had made almost no progress in the investigation, and even asked to keep Hureini in custody through the Jewish New Year, when Israeli investigators are off for the holiday.

The decision to release him is undoubtedly an achievement, particularly in a military legal system in which hearings are held in Hebrew without Arabic translation, and in which the military prosecutor and the judge wear the same army uniform. But the decision, which was announced after three grueling hearings, carries a heavy price: Hureini was forced to pay $3,000 and will be banned from accessing the plot of land on which he was attacked — and which he owns — for a month.

The affair proves the importance of real-time documentation, particularly when Israeli politicians and right-wing groups automatically accuse Palestinians and left-wing activists of “harassing soldiers” when they film them. One can only imagine the fate of Hureini, who was initially accused of attempted murder, had the incident not been filmed by an international volunteer who happened to accompany the farmers.

In this reality, in which settlers are blessed with the support of the occupation authorities, and in which Palestinians are automatically suspected of murder, the presence of both activists on the ground and independent journalism is more crucial than ever. As some of us gather to celebrate the Jewish New Year tonight, we wish that this victory for truth and justice will be one of many. May this new year be one of speaking truth to power, in which we can celebrate liberation and equality for all.

Shana tova to all those celebrating,
Oren Ziv

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