Jewish settlers attacked Palestinian farmers today, as they were working in their lands in Masafer Yatta in the south of the West Bank, according to Palestinian news agency WAFA.
Local activist Fouad Amour told reporters that a group of Jewish settlers attacked Palestinian farmers in Khirbet al-Khrouba as they were harvesting their crops; they also assaulted an activist who was with the farmers and seized his camera while he was filming the attack.
Sealed Off and Forgotten: Israel’s ‘Firing Zones’ in the West Bank
by Ramzy Baroud@RamzyBaroud #Israel #WestBank #Palestine #Palestinians pic.twitter.com/3nyWjNza6s— Antiwar.com (@Antiwarcom) January 16, 2020
The Jewish settlers were escorted by Israeli soldiers, who only intervened to force Palestinian farmers to leave their land.
Settlers also attacked residents in another village in Masafer Yatta, said Amour.
On Easter Sunday, Jewish Settlers Uproot Hundreds of Olive Saplings near Bethlehem – Palestine Chronicle https://t.co/OHZtqGL0Tq
— mouna25 (@mouhab2510) April 14, 2020
According to Amour, Jewish settlers also attacked the village of Khirbet Maghayer el-Abeed, beating one resident and stealing his donkey.
Residents of the villages sterilized the area where the settlers and soldiers were after they left it fearing they brought coronavirus with them.
Spreading the Virus of Occupation: Spitting as a Weapon in the Hand of Colonial Israel – Palestine Chronicle https://t.co/LzJfXoUqtM
— Linda kateeb (@KateebLinda) April 16, 2020
On March 31, the Geneva-based Euro-Med Monitor urged the international community to protect Palestinians and force Israeli soldiers to stop incursions of cities and towns that threaten preventive measures taken by the Palestinian Authority to control the outbreak of coronavirus.
It also called for investigating the suspicious behavior of a number of soldiers and Jewish settlers, which appeared to be an attempt to spread the infection and hold those responsible to account.
Six new coronavirus cases were confirmed in the West Bank, raising the total in Palestine to 313, according to the Palestinian Ministry of Health.
(Palestine Chronicle, WAFA, Social Media)