Israeli settlers attack foreign volunteers with stones, batons and iron rods

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Middle East Monitor (@middleeastmonitor)

A group of foreign volunteers assisting Palestinian farmers in the occupied West Bank was assaulted by Israeli settlers yesterday using stones, batons and iron rods, reported Haaretz. Local Palestinian sources said that the attack occurred in the town of Qusra, to the south of Nablus, and resulted in injuries to Palestinian residents, with some volunteers requiring hospitalisation.

David Hummel, a German American volunteer in the group, said that eight foreign volunteers, primarily from the US, were in an olive grove when they were attacked by Israeli settlers. “We were standing there peacefully, not a threat to anyone, when they started coming towards us and pushing us down the path, they started attacking and beating us all with sticks and metal pipes and they were throwing rocks at us as well,” Hummel told AFP. “I was attacked on my legs, on my arms and on my jaw as well, and it was very violent.” The group of attackers, he added, included six women.

The volunteers were affiliated with the International Solidarity Movement, a pro-Palestinian NGO dedicated to providing a “protective presence” for Palestinians threatened by settler violence in the occupied West Bank.

According to Qusra’s mayor, Hani Odeh, two women were among the four activists who required medical attention after the attack. They were transported to Rafidia Hospital in Nablus.

Odeh reported further that while Israeli troops did arrive at the scene, they did not intervene to stop the settlers. Instead, they fired warning shots into the air to disperse the foreign volunteers and Palestinian farmers. “The farmers were trying to reclaim land that had been previously burned by settlers,” he explained, noting that the attackers were from the nearby Esh Kodesh illegal settlement.

The attacks came after the International Court of Justice declared on Friday that Israel’s occupation of Palestinian territories from 1967 is “unlawful” and must end. Almost 580 Palestinians have been killed by settlers and Israeli security services in the occupied West Bank since last October.

READ: Germany says it is ‘not supporting Israeli occupation policy’