4-year-old Palestinian hospitalised after hit and run by Israeli settler in Hebron

An Israeli settler ran over a four-year-old Palestinian boy in the centre of Hebron city in the southern occupied West Bank on Sunday and fled the scene, according to Palestinian security sources.

Murad Samir al-Razam was treated for moderate injuries by the Palestinian Red Crescent before he was evacuated to the Hebron governmental hospital for further treatment.

Read: Israeli settler driver hits Palestinian girl

According to the security sources, the hit and run occurred in the centre of Hebron city, near the illegal Israeli Ramat Yishai settlement adjacent to Tel Rumeida.

A city divided by force

Mistreatment of Palestinians has been common since the city was divided in the 1990s after US-born settler Baruch Goldstein massacred 29 Palestinians inside the Ibrahimi Mosque.

The majority of the city was placed under the jurisdiction of the Palestinian Authority, while the Old City and surrounding areas were placed under Israeli military control in a sector known as H2.

Read: Settlers monitor Palestinian construction in East Jerusalem

Some 800 notoriously aggressive Israeli settlers now live under the protection of the Israeli military in the Old City, surrounded by more than 30,000 Palestinians. Palestinian residents of the Old City face a large Israeli military presence on a daily basis, with at least 20 checkpoints set up at the entrances of many streets.

Additionally, Palestinians are not allowed to drive in the most areas of the Old City and are not permitted to walk on certain roads, while Israeli settlers drive cars and carry machine guns.