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<h1 class="gmail-reader-title">Truckers recount 'barbaric' settler attack on Gaza aid convoy</h1>
<div class="gmail-credits gmail-reader-credits">Al Mayadeen English</div>
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<div class="gmail-reader-estimated-time">May 16, 2024<br></div></div></div><hr><div class="gmail-content">
<div class="gmail-moz-reader-content gmail-reader-show-element"><div id="gmail-readability-page-1" class="gmail-page"><p>The
incident, which unfolded in broad daylight, has rightfully sparked
international condemnation, shedding light on the dire circumstances
faced by Palestinians under Israeli occupation.</p><img src="cid:ii_lwaafy8r0" alt="2325642e-f6e9-4239-8ca0-717fe8ff80d3.jpg" width="438" height="287"><br><div><ul id="gmail-content-slick-0"><div aria-hidden="false"><li>
A worker clears piles of spilled food parcels scattered
across the ground in a lorry park after Israeli settlers attacked Gaza
aid trucks. (<em>AFP</em>/Getty Images)
</li></div></ul>
<p>Palestinian truck drivers delivering aid to Gaza recounted "barbaric"
scenes as their vehicles were obstructed and vandalized by Israeli
settlers, hindering the delivery of <a href="https://english.almayadeen.net/news/politics/msf-slams-us--decries-tragedy-of-young-gaza-children-wanting" target="_blank" rel="noopener">vital humanitarian supplies</a> to a population facing severe hunger.</p>
<p>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.</p>
<p>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.</p>
<p>Yazid al-Zoubi, 26, stated that the convoy consisted of 50 to 60 trucks.</p>
<p>“We were carrying oil, sugar, and other things and driving from the Tarqumiya crossing,” he said, as quoted by <em>The Guardian</em>.
“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.’’</p>
<h2>IOF at 'the service of settlers'</h2>
<p>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.</p>
<p>This comes although aid agencies have reported <a href="https://english.almayadeen.net/news/politics/13-children-in-gaza-die-of-hunger--hamas-slams-it-as--disgra" target="_blank" rel="noopener">famine conditions</a>
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.</p>
<p>During Monday's attack, Zoubi said the Israeli soldiers escorting the
convoy stood by and watched as the settlers went on a rampage.</p>
<p>“Even though they were present and watching what was happening. The army was at the service of the settlers,’’ he stressed.</p>
<p>Zoubi mentioned that the drivers initially fled the scene but were
attacked by armed settlers when they returned later to collect their
belongings.</p>
<p>‘’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."</p>
<p>“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.”</p>
<h2>"What happened is serious"</h2>
<p>Haitham Abu Khairo, who was also part of the <a href="https://english.almayadeen.net/news/politics/nearly-230-000-children--new-mothers-risk-dying-of-hunger-in" target="_blank" rel="noopener">aid convoy</a> and owned one of the vandalized trucks, reported losing approximately 250,000 Israeli shekels (£53,700) in the attack, as per <em>The Guardian</em>.</p>
<p>“I managed to escape but what happened is serious," he stressed.</p>
<p>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 <em>Reuters, </em>that around 15 trucks were damaged in the attack, with total damages amounting to approximately £1.6 million.</p>
<p>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.</p>
<p>Israeli police claimed that the incident is currently under investigation.</p>
<h2>Not an isolated incident </h2>
<p>Monday's attack was claimed by a <a href="https://english.almayadeen.net/news/politics/settlers--israeli-forces-make-healthcare-in-west-bank-hard-t" target="_blank" rel="noopener">settler group</a>
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.</p>
<p>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. </p>
<p><strong>Read next:<a href="https://english.almayadeen.net/news/politics/68--of-israeli-settlers-oppose-humanitarian-aid-to-gaza--pol" target="_blank" rel="noopener"> 68% of Israeli settlers oppose humanitarian aid to Gaza: Poll</a></strong></p>
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