Israeli settlers on Saturday attacked a farmer and his sons in the southern West Bank near Beit Ummar, a popular committee spokesman said.

Muhammad Ayad Awad, spokesman for the Popular Committee Against the Wall and Settlements in Beit Ummar, said that around 15 Israeli settlers attacked Muhammad Abd al-Hamid Jaber al-Salibi and his sons in the Wad Abu Rish area near the Israeli settlement of Bat Ayin while they were working on their land.

The settlers hurled rocks, but no were casualties reported, Awad said.

He added that Israeli forces came to the scene and forced the farmer and his sons to leave the area at gunpoint.

An Israeli army spokesman did not have any information regarding the incident.

In 2013, there were 399 incidents of settler violence against Palestinians in the occupied West Bank, according to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.

Over 90 percent of investigations into settler violence by Israeli police do not lead to an indictment.

More than 500,000 Israeli settlers live in settlements across the West Bank and East Jerusalem, in contravention of international law.

(Ma’an – www.maannews.net)