Jewish settlers today assaulted an elderly Palestinian man who was farming in his land near the West Bank city of Qalqilya, according to the Palestinian news agency WAFA.
Eyewitnesses told WAFA that Jewish settlers assaulted 60-year-old Abdulkreem Younes when he was in his land south of Qalqilya and as another Palestinian man intervened to help Younes, the Israeli soldiers detained him.
Settler violence against Palestinians and their property is routine in the West Bank and is rarely prosecuted by Israeli authorities.
“Jewish settler violence should not be analyzed separately from the violence meted out by the Israeli army, but seen within the larger context of the violent Zionist ideology that governs Israeli society entirely,” wrote Palestinian author and editor of The Palestine Chronicle, Ramzy Baroud.
“Settler violence has long since become part of Palestinians’ daily life under occupation,” according to the Human Rights Group B’tselem. “Israeli security forces enable these actions, which result in Palestinian casualties – injuries and fatalities – as well as damage to land and property. In some cases, they even serve as an armed escort, or even join in the attacks”.
Between 500,000 and 600,000 Israelis live in Jewish-only settlements across occupied East Jerusalem and the West Bank in violation of international law.
Source: Palestine Chronicle