HEBRON, March 31, 2025 (WAFA) – Israeli occupation forces Monday briefly held and assaulted Palestinians in Masafer Yatta, south of the occupied West Bank city of Hebron, according to a local activist.

Osama Mkhamra said that the occupying forces held members of al-Adra family in one of the hamlets making up the Masafer Yatta and beat them up, inflicting bruises across their bodies.

He added that the attack came after Israeli colonists released their cattle on Palestinian crops in the area, while noting that the soldiers rounded up a Palestinian after assaulting him for attempting to fend off the colonists’ encroachment upon agricultural land.

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

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

Approximately 1 million Israeli colonists are living in colonies in the West Bank and East Jerusalem in violation of international law.

Masafer Yatta is made up of 19 hamlets that 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 the 1980s and is accordingly referred to as Firing Zone 918.

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

K.F.