US 'strongly condemns' attack by West Bank settlers on Palestinians

US State Department on Thursday derided the recent sporadic attacks by the masked West Bank settlers from the settler outpost of Avigail on a Palestinian village earlier this week that wounded a 3-year-old boy. “The US government strongly condemns the acts of settler violence that took place against Palestinians in villages near Hebron in the West Bank on September 28. We appreciate the Foreign Minister and other officials' strong and unequivocal condemnations of this violence," a US Embassy spokesperson said on October 1 in a statement obtained by the broadcasters when an American reporter asked about the recent incident that has drawn world condemnation, including from Israel’s Foreign Minister Yair Yapid.

Five accused, including two minors, were detained by the Israeli police after the Jewish attack in the West Bank that injured at least 12 people. Israeli police officers described the incident as “friction" between both sides, according to the Hebrew press reports. Police took action and apprehended the accused basis the complaint filed by Palestinian activists.

Israel gained victory over the West Bank in the 1967 war, home to 2.5 million Palestinians and 500,000 Jewish settlers. More radical settlers from the Israeli side have established outposts in rural parts of the West Bank where several unauthorized Palestinians live. Israel's military has been reluctant to dismantle any of the homes as the region is sensitive and prone to clashes that may ignite into a full-blown war. In August,  an Israeli security official told agencies that Israel was set to approve the construction of new homes for both Jewish settlers in the occupied West Bank as well as grant permits for Palestinian housing construction in a rare diplomatic step. A Jerusalem court meanwhile had ruled halting any demolition of the Palestinian homes in Silwan. Defense Minister Benny Gantz has approved the construction of 1,000 Palestinian homes in the Israeli-controlled Area C in Jenin and Bethlehem, as per the Hebrew media reports. 

The recent attacks, which are frequent due to the bitter sentiments among the settlers in the Masafer Yatta area southeast of Hebron as per the human rights groups, have attracted sweeping condemnation including from the UK, European Union, and other countries of the world. “This is a shocking case of violence and terrorism,” Israel’s Foreign minister Lapid wrote in a tweet.

The footage distributed by Israeli human rights group B’Tselem circulated was widely this past week that depicted brutal assault on the village of Al Mufaqarah by dozens of masked settlers who threw projectile objects attacked villagers by ransacking homes and murdering the livestock and sheep. The visuals that described ‘Jewish pogrom’ showed organised assault on the Palestinians, hurling stones causing injuries, beating and stoning residents and children aged as little as 3 to 4 years old. 

3-year-old child hospitalised with critical head injuries 

30-year-old resident, Mohammed Hussein Hamamdeh’s 3-year-old child was hospitalised with a head wound from stone in Be’er Sheva’s Soroka Medical Center with a fracture in his skull and internal bleeding in his brain, an Israeli left-wing news site reported from on the ground. The assault, it described, began at around 1 pm afternoon, when a group of unidentified west Bank settlers assaulted a Palestinian shepherd, killing his cattle, as he fled with his two kids. 

They later, in as many as 60 in number, attacked anyone they met on their path with handguns, stones, clubs, and sticks in the area of Masafer Yatta. This is a region of prominent unauthorized Palestinian villages as most residents have not been legally granted building permits by the Israeli authorities. The disturbing visuals show the assaulters rampaging across the villages, smashing cars, and wreaking havoc with the destruction of private homes and property. It depicts the Israeli soldiers apparently not taking any action as the group of men hurtle objects at the man filming the incident, CNN, that accessed the visuals reported. It also approached the Israeli army for comments but was handed no response. 

"This isn't the Israeli way and it isn't the Jewish way. This is a violent and dangerous fringe and we have a responsibility to bring them to justice,” Israel’s Foreign Minister Yair Lapid wrote on his official Twitter handle. 

Lapid’s condemnation suit was followed by the UK. A minister for the Middle East and North Africa in the UK’s Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office also denounced the violence as he said: The UK condemns this violent act against a Palestinian village in the South Hebron Hills by settlers on 28 Sept. Israel must tackle this problem and protect Palestinians.” US officials, reportedly hailed Israel for taking a stand against violence on innocent lives, as he told the American press in a statement, “We appreciate the Foreign Minister [Yair Lapid’s] and other officials’ strong and unequivocal condemnations of this violence.” Israel’s Health Minister and Meretz leader Nitzan Horowitz also condemned the attack, saying that the “violent rampage of lawbreakers is intolerable and we will stop it.”

Image: AP