A group of illegal Jewish settlers, escorted by Israeli soldiers, hurled stones at Palestinian farmers while they were in their own lands.
Illegal Israeli Jewish settlers assaulted on Wednesday Palestinian farmers in the village of in the village of Umm Safa, northwest of the city of Ramallah, the official Palestinian news agency WAFA reported.
Marwan Sabah, the head of the Umm Safa village council, said in a telephone call with WAFA that a group of Jewish settlers, protected by Israeli soldiers, hurled stones at Palestinian farmers while they were in their own lands.
No casualties were reported.
The farmers were able to confront the settlers and defend their lands.
Settler violence against Palestinians and their property is routine in the West Bank and is rarely prosecuted by Israeli authorities.
“Jewish settler violence should not be analyzed separately from the violence meted out by the Israeli army, but seen within the larger context of the violent Zionist ideology that governs Israeli society entirely,” wrote Palestinian author and editor of The Palestine Chronicle, Ramzy Baroud.
“Settler violence has long since become part of Palestinians’ daily life under occupation,” according to the Human Rights Group B’tselem. “Israeli security forces enable these actions, which result in Palestinian casualties – injuries and fatalities – as well as damage to land and property. In some cases, they even serve as an armed escort, or even join in the attacks”.
Between 500,000 and 600,000 Israelis live in Jewish-only settlements across occupied East Jerusalem and the West Bank in violation of international law.