Settlers harass and attack a number of Palestinian shepherds

Groups of settlers harassed a number of Palestinian shepherds yesterday and attacked several on their agricultural lands in the Al-Aghwar Al-Shamaleya area, east of occupied Jerusalem.

Moataz Bisharat, the Palestinian official in charge of Jordan Valley’s Israeli settlements’ file at the Palestinian Authority (PA), told Quds Press that the settlers cursed the Palestinian shepherds and warned them against coming close to the settlement blocs in the area.

In previous interviews with Quds Press, Bisharat had said that the occupation and settlers are using these attacks to pressure Palestinians and force them to leave their land, making it an easy target for settlement projects.

International and human rights organisations consider the occupation’s continued targeting of Palestinians in the Al-Aghwar area, by seizing land, demolitions and evacuations under the pretext of military exercises, as part of its aim to pressure its inhabitants to evacuate it.

Read: Settlers beat Palestinian teen in Nablus

Palestinian Osama Jamil Daghlas suffered injuries across his body after he was beaten with wooden sticks and sharp objects by Israeli settlers in Nablus on 6 September 2017. [Shehab News Agency/Facebook]