Eleven Palestinians injured, four abducted during Israeli settler attack in Hebron

Sunday January 13, 2008 16:20

by Saed Bannoura - IMEMC & Agencies

On Saturday night, eleven Palestinians were injured by Israeli settlers, and four others were abducted by the Israeli army, during an attack by the settlers and soldiers in Wad al-Hasin area, according to the Palestinian news agency WAFA.

Hebron Settlers marching - Archive Photo by Maan News Agency

The neighborhood is adjacent to the Kiryat Arba settlement, east of Hebron in the southern part of the West Bank. Kiryat Arba is infamous as being home to some of the most violent and extremist of Israeli colonizers of Palestinian land.

Local resident Jamal Abu S'efan, who lives near the settlement fence, stated that dozens of settlers began hurling stones, empty bottles and iron bars at his home after their prayer session on Saturday. The barrage resulted in injuries of Abu S'efan and ten others in his extended family, including four children. Several of those injured suffered from concussions when they were hit in the head with rocks and other objects.

Jamal Abu S'efan added that when Israeli soldiers arrived on the scene, they did nothing about the settlers, instead abducting four members of his family. The abductees were identified as Hosni Abu S'efan, 45; Rebhy Abu S'efan, 42; Hisham Abu S'efan, 39; and Mahmoud Abu S'efan, 30. He added that the soldiers surrounded his home and barred the medics from entering to bring the injured to the hospital.

The soldiers fired tear gas bombs inside the house, further endangering and injuring the family members. Eyewitnesses reported that both settlers and soldiers participated in the attack, and when the family members tried to fend off the attack by holding up their hands, they were beaten down.

Settler attacks in the Hebron area are commonplace, where 5,000 settlers live in large settlement strongholds right in the middle of a Palestinian city of 150,000 residents.