HEBRON, Thursday, November 11, 2021 (WAFA) – Israeli settlers Wednesday evening attacked Palestinians with live fire in Khallet al-Dabe‘h village, south of Hebron, injuring four, according to local and human rights sources.

Coordinator of the Anti-Wall and Settlement Popular Committees, Rateb Jabour, said that Israeli settlers attacked with live fire and rocks Palestinians who gathered in response to the construction of an Israeli colonial settlement outpost in Khallet al-Dabe‘h, one of Masafer Yatta hamlets, injuring four.

He added that among the casualties were two who were injured with live rounds in their hands and another who sustained bruises due to severe beating.

Meanwhile, the Alliance for Human Rights, a group of activists allied to document human rights abuses in Palestine, said that five Palestinians were injured by live rounds in the attack, while pointing that the settlers burned the Palestinians’ tent.

“It appears that US Congress peoples’ promises to “watch” and make sure that no violence occurred this weekend was taken as a challenge by local Israeli settlers. Settlers continue to act with impunity, protected by the IDF, as they use violence against Palestinians to make increasingly aggressive land grabs. They are funded by “charities” in the US, the Good Shepherds Collective, an organization dedicated to nonviolent resistance, said.

Masafer Yatta is a collection of almost 19 hamlets which rely heavily on animal husbandry as the main source of livelihood.

Located in Area C of the West Bank, under full Israeli administrative and military control, the area has been subjected to repeated Israeli violations by settlers and soldiers targeting their main source of living - livestock.

It has been designated as a closed Israeli military zone for training since 1980s and accordingly referred to as Firing Zone 918.

Israeli violations against the area include demolition of animal barns, homes and residential structures. Issuance of construction permits by Israel to local Palestinians in the area is non-existent.

Settler violence against Palestinians and their property is routine in the West Bank and is rarely prosecuted by Israeli authorities.

Settler violence includes property and mosque arsons, stone-throwing, uprooting of crops and olive trees, attacks on vulnerable homes, among others.

There are over 700,000 Israeli settlers living in colonial settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem in violation of international law.

K.F.