Aisha al-Rabi, 48, a Palestinian mother of seven, has died after her vehicle came under attack by a group of stone-throwing Israeli settlers in the occupied West Bank.
\nAisha was in the car with her husband Yaqoub and their two daughters on their way back home in the Nablus-area village of Bidya, when they were stoned by the settlers late on Friday.
\nThe attackers, who encroached on the right shoulder of the road, ambushed Aisha\u2019s car, hurling large stones at the front windshield and passenger side window, where she was sitting.
\nIn the midst of the assault, which took place around 9pm, Aisha was struck with a large rock on the right side of her head, causing her to lose consciousness.
\n\u201cYaqoub was so disoriented, he could barely get a sense of what was going on, and he looked over and saw his wife unconscious and bleeding heavily from her head,\u201d Issam al-Rabi, 55, who is Yaqoub\u2019s cousin, told Middle East Eye.
\n\u201cHe didn\u2019t know what to do so he rushed to the Rafidiya Hospital in Nablus City, a 20-minute drive away,\u201d Issam said.
\nBy the time the family arrived, Aisha had died. Her husband and daughters were treated for light and moderate wounds.
\n\u201cWe are devastated,\u201d the cousin told MEE. \u201cTo lose someone in such a tragic and sudden way, we feel like we are in the middle of a nightmare.\u201d
\nDaughter\u2019s engagement
\nAccording to Issam, the family were on their way home from Hebron, where one of Aisha and Yaqoub\u2019s six daughters lives. He said that another one of their daughters was set to be engaged in two weeks.
\nThe cousin told MEE that the attack took place some 100 metres south of the Israeli Tappuah (Zaatara) military checkpoint. The settlers attacked the family\u2019s car as they were approaching the junction at a reduced speed.
\nIsraeli Police spokesperson Micky Rosenfeld told MEE that the attack was under investigation by the police, adding that a gag order had been placed on the case.
\n\u201cWe are looking into the incident, into background information, and if and when it took place there,\u201d Rosenfeld said, casting a tone of doubt over the Palestinian narrative of the attack.
\nHe went on to say \u201cwe have claims that we know about, but we have to find evidence to prove what happened, and at the moment that is unclear\u201d.
\nIssam told MEE that the family is unaware of any developments in the investigation, and do not know if the settlers responsible have been apprehended, though he remains skeptical.
\n\u201cThe soldiers serve to protect the settlers,\u201d he said. \u201cEven though the settlers have made it unsafe for us to even leave our homes, the soldiers and [Prime Minister Benjamin] Netanyahu\u2019s government still protect them.\u201d
\nAccording to Issam, his taxi van came under attack last week when he was driving near the illegal Israeli Brakha settlement near Nablus. \u201cI had seven passengers with me, and all of our lives were put in danger,\u201d he said.
\nHe added that a few days ago, some cars in Bidya were vandalised and destroyed by settlers.
\n\u201cThe settlers are crazy, they are not humans. We can\u2019t even leave our homes because of them!\u201d he yelled, his distress mounting.
\n\u201cThis was supposed to be a happy time for the family,\u201d he said. \u201cAisha and Yaqoub were supposed to be preparing for their daughter\u2019s engagement in two weeks, and now we are preparing her grave for burial.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Aisha al-Rabi, 48, a Palestinian mother of seven, has died after her vehicle came under attack by a group of stone-throwing Israeli settlers in the occupied West Bank.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":9412,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[32],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-9407","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-c59-islamic-world"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n