Dozens of masked Israeli settlers grabbed Qusai Abu al-Kebash in the middle of the night, bound him by his hands and legs and stripped him. He says they then zip-tied his genitals and paraded him through his community while beating him.
Israeli settlers have increasingly used violence against Palestinians in a bid to drive them from their homes in the occupied West Bank. But sexual assault appears to be a new weapon in these settlers’ arsenal of intimidation, pointing to a troubling new level of violence.
Israeli authorities are investigating the alleged assault and settlers’ alleged theft of hundreds of Abu al-Kebash’s sheep. But Palestinians have largely lost faith in Israeli investigations into settler violence, with few ever resulting in arrests, let alone convictions.
Abu al-Kebash recounted his horrifying experience for the first time on camera with CNN’s Jeremy Diamond.
