RAMALLAH: A group of Palestinian cyclists say they were attacked by Israelis in the occupied West Bank after a popular trail app landed them on a remote path dotted with Jewish settlements.
Avid cyclist Amer Kurdi set out on Saturday with his brother and three others on what was supposed to be an 80-km (50-mile) ride, using the cycling, hiking, and mountain biking app Komoot to chart a path north from the Palestinian village of Birzeit.
The West Bank, captured by Israel in a 1967 war, is scattered with Israeli settlements which its 3 million Palestinians mostly cannot enter, as well as checkpoints and military bases that Israel says it needs for its security.
Over an hour into their ride, Kurdi said Komoot led them east toward a rocky path near the Israeli settlement of Shilo. He said a group of Hebrew-speaking men, whom the cyclists later took to be Israeli settlers, approached and asked where they were from.
Kurdi, 30, replied that they were from the Palestinian city of Ramallah. Soon after, the men — Kurdi estimates there were five or six — started throwing stones at them, using T-shirts to hide their faces, Kurdi and his brother, Samer, said.
“The others managed to run away, but I tripped and fell,” Samer, 28, said. “When I got up, a settler was behind me, and he started beating me with a metal rod.”
Photos the cyclists took after the incident, which they reported to Israel’s police, show Samer’s legs and arms bruised and bloodied.
Israeli police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld said they are investigating.
Palestinians complain that navigation apps fail to grasp the West Bank’s complexity.
Asked for comment, Komoot said it regretted the incident but that its service is not specifically optimized for route planning “through areas of political unrest.”
Amer Kurdi says the incident will not keep him from cycling.
“I’ll wear a camera. I’ll be more careful when using apps,” he said.
“But we won’t stop. We will stand up for our right to bike.”
Palestinian cyclists say attacked by Israeli settlers after trail app led them astray
https://arab.news/287mh
Palestinian cyclists say attacked by Israeli settlers after trail app led them astray
- Komoot led them east toward a rocky path near the Israeli settlement of Shilo
Israel to partially reopen Gaza’s Rafah crossing
- Entry and exit “will be permitted in coordination with Egypt, following prior security clearance of individuals by Israel”
- The crossing is the only route in and out of Gaza that does not pass through Israel
RAFAH, Palestinian Territories: Israel is set to partially reopen the Rafah crossing between the war-devastated Gaza Strip and Egypt on Sunday, following months of urging from humanitarian organizations, though access will be limited to the movement of people.
The reopening comes amid ongoing violence in the Palestinian territory, with Gaza’s civil defense agency reporting dozens killed in Israeli attacks on Saturday, while the Israeli military said it was retaliating against ceasefire violations.
The Rafah crossing is a vital gateway for both civilians and aid, but has remained closed since Israeli forces seized control of it in May 2024 during the war with Hamas, aside from a brief and limited reopening in early 2025.
Israel had previously said it would not reopen the crossing until the remains of Ran Gvili — the last Israeli hostage held in Gaza — were returned.
His remains were recovered days ago and he was laid to rest in Israel on Wednesday.
“The Rafah Crossing will open this coming Sunday (February 1st) in both directions, for limited movement of people only,” COGAT, an Israeli defense ministry body overseeing civil affairs in the occupied Palestinian territories, said on Friday.
Entry and exit “will be permitted in coordination with Egypt, following prior security clearance of individuals by Israel, and under the supervision of the European Union mission,” it added.
However, key details remain unclear, including how many people will be allowed to cross and whether those seeking to return to Gaza will be permitted entry.
A source at the border told AFP that Sunday would be largely devoted to preparations and logistical arrangements.
The crossing is set to open on Sunday on a trial basis to allow the passage of wounded individuals, ahead of a regular reopening scheduled for Monday, three sources at the crossing said.
However, no agreement has yet been reached on the number of Palestinians permitted to enter or exit, the sources added, noting that Egypt plans to admit “all Palestinians whom Israel authorizes to leave” the territory.
“Every day that passes drains my life and worsens my condition,” said Mohammed Shamiya, 33, who suffers from kidney disease and requires dialysis treatment abroad.
“I’m waiting every moment for the opening of the Rafah land crossing.”
Anxious wait
Safa Al-Hawajri, who has received a scholarship to study overseas, is also eagerly awaiting the reopening on Sunday.
“I’m waiting in the hope of fulfilling my ambition, which is tied to the reopening of the crossing,” said Hawajri, 18.
“I hope to be able to travel as soon as it opens.”
Located on Gaza’s southern border with Egypt, Rafah is the only crossing into and out of the territory that does not pass through Israel.
The crossing lies in an area held by Israeli forces following their withdrawal behind the so-called “Yellow Line” under the terms of a US-brokered ceasefire that came into effect on October 10.
Israeli troops still control more than half of Gaza, while the rest remains under Hamas authority.
The ceasefire has now entered its second phase and calls for reopening the crossing following the release or return of all Israeli hostages held by Palestinian militants.
Hamas had called for its full reopening in both directions after the remains of Gvili were brought back to Israel.
The reopening is expected to facilitate the entry of a 15-member Palestinian technocratic body, the National Committee for the Administration of Gaza (NCAG), established to oversee the day-to-day governance of the territory’s 2.2 million residents.
The committee is to operate under the supervision of the so-called “Board of Peace” chaired by US President Donald Trump.
The NCAG, headed by former Palestinian Authority deputy minister Ali Shaath, is expected to enter the Gaza Strip once the Rafah crossing reopens.
Violence continued ahead of the crossing’s reopening.
At least 32 people, including children, were killed on Saturday in Israeli air strikes in Gaza, reported the civil defense agency, which operates as a rescue force under the Hamas authority.
Israel’s military said the strikes were retaliation for an incident on Friday in which eight Palestinian fighters exited a tunnel in the city of Rafah, which it said violated the ceasefire.
