A 70-year-old Palestinian shepherd was targeted on Saturday by illegal Jewish settlers as he tended to his sheep in the occupied West Bank, The New Arab reported.

Three Jewish settlers physically assaulted the man in a pasture near the city of Jericho, Bedouin rights activist Hasan Mleihat was cited as saying by the official Palestinian news agency WAFA.

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The shepherd was made to depart the area at gunpoint, Mleihat said.

It comes amid an escalation in violence by Israeli forces and settlers in the West Bank.

So far this year, 45 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli forces and Jewish settlers in the West Bank and East Jerusalem.

Nearly 150 Palestinians were killed in the occupied West Bank in 2022, making it the deadliest year there since 2004, according to the leading Israeli rights group B’Tselem.

(The New Arab, PC)