Israeli settlers attack Palestinian women and children in Hebron; seven injured

Monday January 21, 2008 16:59 by Saed Bannoura - 1 of International Middle East Media Center - IMEMC Editorial Group

In the latest Israeli settler attack to take place in the Palestinian city of Hebron, a group of armed settlers attacked and beat a group of women and children, and a human rights worker who was accompanying them, on Saturday evening.

Israeli settlers in Hebron (Ma'an)

The settlers threw stones and then assaulted the group, beating them into the ground. The injured were unable to be evacuated to a hospital for several hours, as the Israeli military closed the area and prevented ambulances from entering to evacuate the wounded.

It is common for Israeli troops stationed in Hebron to target Palestinian victims of Israeli settler attacks for further repression and restrictions. Indeed, after an Israeli settler killed 27 Palestinians praying in a mosque in 1994, the mosque was split in half, with half of it turned into a synagogue – as was demanded by the killer.

The settlers who engaged in Saturday's attack entered Hebron from the nearby illegal Israeli outpost of Kiryat Arba. No attempt has been made by the Israeli military or police to apprehend the attackers, and none have been identified or detained.

One of those attacked told the Palestinian Ma'an news agency, “The settlers attacked us and beat a human rights activist, Isa Amr, who works for the Israeli humanitarian organization B'Tselem. Then the soldiers arrested him and took him to an unknown destination.”

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