[News] Truckers recount 'barbaric' settler attack on Gaza aid convoy

[Anti-Imperialist News]

english.almayadeen.net
<https://english.almayadeen.net/news/politics/truckers-recount--barbaric--settler-attack-on-gaza-aid-convo>
Truckers recount 'barbaric' settler attack on Gaza aid convoy
Al Mayadeen English
May 16, 2024
------------------------------

The incident, which unfolded in broad daylight, has rightfully sparked
international condemnation, shedding light on the dire circumstances faced
by Palestinians under Israeli occupation.
[image: 2325642e-f6e9-4239-8ca0-717fe8ff80d3.jpg]

   - A worker clears piles of spilled food parcels scattered across the
   ground in a lorry park after Israeli settlers attacked Gaza aid trucks. (
   *AFP*/Getty Images)

Palestinian truck drivers delivering aid to Gaza recounted "barbaric"
scenes as their vehicles were obstructed and vandalized by Israeli
settlers, hindering the delivery of vital humanitarian supplies
<https://english.almayadeen.net/news/politics/msf-slams-us--decries-tragedy-of-young-gaza-children-wanting>
to a population facing severe hunger.

The attack, which occurred on Monday at the Tarqumiya checkpoint in the
occupied West Bank, saw drivers and contractors targeted. They also
asserted that Israeli soldiers escorting the convoy did nothing to prevent
the assault.

The incident drew international condemnation after videos on social media
showed Israeli settlers throwing boxes of essential supplies to the ground
and setting at least one vehicle on fire.

Yazid al-Zoubi, 26, stated that the convoy consisted of 50 to 60 trucks.

“We were carrying oil, sugar, and other things and driving from the
Tarqumiya crossing,” he said, as quoted by *The Guardian*. “We left in a
convoy with an army vehicle in front of us and an army vehicle behind us,
and we took a special army road that civilians could not cross. Suddenly,
after 20 minutes on the road, near the crossing, we were surprised by at
least 400 settlers. They attacked us. The rest of the drivers and I escaped
from the vehicles after the settlers starting throwing stones at us.’’
IOF at 'the service of settlers'

Zoubi recounted that the situation escalated when settlers began smashing
the lorries' windscreens and puncturing their tires. They then climbed onto
the vehicles and tossed food packages onto the road.

This comes although aid agencies have reported famine conditions
<https://english.almayadeen.net/news/politics/13-children-in-gaza-die-of-hunger--hamas-slams-it-as--disgra>
in Gaza, attributing them to Israeli restrictions on aid entering the
territory. Humanitarian officials state that Gaza's population requires at
least 500 truckloads of food, fuel, and other essentials daily, but they
have received only a small portion of that, with weeks going by without one
truck of aid coming into the enclave.

During Monday's attack, Zoubi said the Israeli soldiers escorting the
convoy stood by and watched as the settlers went on a rampage.

“Even though they were present and watching what was happening. The army
was at the service of the settlers,’’ he stressed.

Zoubi mentioned that the drivers initially fled the scene but were attacked
by armed settlers when they returned later to collect their belongings.

‘’At that point the army gathered us and ordered us to raise our hands on
the walls,” he stated. “The settlers were free to terrorize us. I have
never been attacked so brutally before."

“The state of terror I experienced is indescribable. Even now I have
nightmares at night. My psychological state is broken, I cannot think
properly, I can’t sleep. I cannot work. We are not smugglers. We agreed to
transport goods legally from the crossing under the watch and supervision
of the Israeli authorities.”
"What happened is serious"

Haitham Abu Khairo, who was also part of the aid convoy
<https://english.almayadeen.net/news/politics/nearly-230-000-children--new-mothers-risk-dying-of-hunger-in>
and owned one of the vandalized trucks, reported losing approximately
250,000 Israeli shekels (£53,700) in the attack, as per *The Guardian*.

“I managed to escape but what happened is serious," he stressed.

The violence has reportedly led dozens of Palestinian drivers to refuse to
transport supplies to Gaza. Adel Amer, a member of a West Bank haulers’
union, said, as quoted by *Reuters, *that around 15 trucks were damaged in
the attack, with total damages amounting to approximately £1.6 million.

This month, the UK and EU imposed sanctions on Israeli settlers, including
those accused of violence against Palestinians in the occupied West Bank.
The US has also sanctioned a few individuals and organizations connected to
attacks on Palestinian civilians, with the initial measures announced in
February and expanded twice in March and April.

Israeli police claimed that the incident is currently under investigation.
Not an isolated incident

Monday's attack was claimed by a settler group
<https://english.almayadeen.net/news/politics/settlers--israeli-forces-make-healthcare-in-west-bank-hard-t>
called Order 9. This incident is not the first attempt by Israeli settlers
to obstruct the flow of much-needed aid to Gaza amid the ongoing genocide.
Last week, demonstrators blocked a road near the desert town of Mitzpe
Ramon in protest against aid lorries entering Gaza.

Throughout this year, violence frequently broke out at crossings from
"Israel" into Gaza, disrupting aid shipments to the territory. In March,
the International Court of Justice instructed "Israel" to ensure unimpeded
access of food aid into Gaza.

*Read next: 68% of Israeli settlers oppose humanitarian aid to Gaza: Poll
<https://english.almayadeen.net/news/politics/68--of-israeli-settlers-oppose-humanitarian-aid-to-gaza--pol>*
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