Palestinian shepherd attacked by Israelis from illegal Yitzhar settlement

A group of Israeli settlers assaulted a Palestinian shepherd in the village of Madama on Saturday, marking the latest in a string of violent attacks committed by residents of the notorious illegal Israeli settlement of Yitzhar in the northern occupied West Bank district of Nablus.

Palestinian security sources told Ma’an News Agency that a number of Israeli settlers from Yitzhar, which is located just a few hundred meters south of Madama, assaulted Mamoun Amin Nassar and pelted him with stones.

The sources added that Nassar was transferred to Rafidiya governmental hospital in Nablus where his injury was described as medium.

In response to a request for comment, an Israeli army spokesperson told Ma’an that “a violent dispute developed between a Palestinian shepherd and several Israel civilians. During the dispute, an Israeli civilian hurled rocks toward the Palestinian and injured him.”

The spokesperson said Israeli forces then arrived to the scene and fired into the air “to disperse the gathering,” and provided medical treatment to the injured Palestinian before he was evacuated to the hospital.

The spokesperson could not confirm that Israeli police had been called to the scene, as was reported by Israeli daily Haaretz.

Israeli police told Haaretz that no one was arrested in the incident. An Israeli police spokesperson told Ma’an they would look into the reports.

Palestinian communities living near Yitzhar have been subjected to a wave of violent attacks in recent weeks. Israeli soldiers have been documented standing by while Israeli settlers threw stones at Palestinians on at least two occasions. According to Haaretz, there were no arrests after those incidents either.