Hassan Odeh, 62, who owns a garage in the Arab town of Huwara, south of Shechem, paid a heavy price for the murder of the two Jewish brothers Hallel Menachem and Yagel Yaakov Yaniv, Hy’d, as raging settlers Converged on the scene of the murder. “Dozens of settlers came to the area outside my house, next to the garage,” Odeh told Ynet Monday morning. “I asked all my family members to go up to the roof. The settlers yelled ‘death to the Arabs’ at me, and then they started burning one car after another.”
Ynet reporter Einav Halabi toured the town and described the shock and awe on the faces of local residents.
According to reporter Amichai Stein, citing sources privy to the story, in the last few hours there have been several conversations between American officials and their Israeli counterparts. The Americans expressed their condolences for the attack and the murdered brothers, but also urged Israel to try to calm the settlers who “rioted” in Hawara.
For many long hours, the avenging settlers set fire to houses and vehicles belonging to the residents of Huwara, which is situated on one of the most central roads in Judea and Samaria, Highway 60. According to the Arabs, 95 vehicles were torched as were another 75 houses.
Sultan Abu Farooq, another owner of a car lot in Huwara, was seriously hurt by the retaliating Jews. “We were told ‘two people were killed, be careful, watch out,’” he told Ynet. “I took my workman to the village of Ein Abus, and then my wife called me and said, ‘They burned down the whole lot, they burned down the house and they’re throwing stones.’ When I came back, I saw that they broke all the windows, and burned a BMV worth half a million shekels. The army was here and let them do what they wanted. They burned my house and my livelihood, I’m now down for the count.”
Canadian New democratic MP Niki Ashton from Manitoba, tweeted Sunday night: “Unacceptable. Horrifying. Canada can’t sit quietly while this goes on.” She shared a video by Hebron Arab activist Issa Amro, who reported the retaliation absent the context of the two murders in the same town. He simply tweeted: “Watch the video, Israeli settlers are burning Palestinian houses, cars. Trees and shops in Huwara village near Nablus, the Israeli settlers are escorted by the Israeli army. Palestinian has no protections.”
As usual, it all started when Israel retaliated. Or, in this case, when Israelis retaliated.
Pro-Israel Arab activist Yoseph Haddad set the record straight, tweeting the entire chain of events that began with the drive-by murder of the two brothers.
The whole world is talking about #Huwara but I have yet to see one report that shows the full picture, so here is the truth and the whole truth. pic.twitter.com/bT9WzucEfz
— יוסף חדאד – Yoseph Haddad (@YosephHaddad) February 27, 2023
Defense Minister Yoav Gallant visited the site of the murder and the enraged retaliation and said: “We are currently standing at the location where the terror attack took place in Hawara. It was a cruel attack. It is heartbreaking to think of the immense pain of the family that lost both its sons- Hallel and Yagel. It is a terrible thing.”
Gallant continued: “I was here with commanders in the IDF. We expect difficult days ahead of us. It may be here in Judea and Samaria, in the Jerusalem area, or in the Gaza region. I gave clear instructions to the IDF, Shin Bet, and the Border Police: ensure readiness to face all threats, reinforce troops and activities on the ground, and most importantly, reach and apprehend the terrorists. We will not tolerate terrorism against Israelis and we will operate in every way necessary.
“With this being said, I call on everyone to restore calm. It is neither legitimate nor possible to operate individually. We cannot allow a situation in which citizens take the law into their hands. I call on everyone to follow law and order and to trust the IDF and security forces everywhere, across the country. Trust the IDF – you have who to trust – we are doing the work necessary.
“And to conclude, as a veteran soldier, I remember many difficult mornings – days when I woke up to a difficult reality, days with operations after terror attacks. I know we will see another day and a different morning and we will overcome this. We will unite, we will work together, and we will ensure security. We will protect lives, and we will trust the IDF and security organizations.”
