BETHLEHEM, December 29, 2025 (WAFA) – A child and an elderly man were injured on Monday evening after being brutally assaulted by Israeli colonists in the Khallat al-Louza area, east of Bethlehem, according to security sources.
Sources told WAFA that a group of colonists stormed the area, attacked Palestinian citizens’ homes, and severely beat the elderly man Ibrahim Ahmad Hassan Obayat, 80, causing serious bruises to his shoulder and back. They also assaulted a 14-year-old minor, causing him fractures to his limbs.
The attack comes amid an escalation in colonists’ assaults on citizens and their property in the eastern areas of Bethlehem governorate, particularly Khallat al-Louza, which has been subjected for months to repeated attacks, including home raids, assaults on residents, and attempts to impose a fait accompli by force, under the protection of Israeli forces.
Areas adjacent to colonial outposts east of Bethlehem have been experiencing sustained harassment of citizens, marked by nightly assaults, restrictions on access to agricultural lands, and the targeting of farmers and shepherds. These practices have intensified residents’ suffering, particularly among the elderly and children, and have entrenched a constant atmosphere of fear and instability in nearby residential communities.
According to the Wall and Colonization Resistance Commission, a total of 2,144 assaults were carried out in November, including 1,523 assaults by Israeli forces and 621 by colonists, with the highest numbers recorded in Ramallah and al-Bireh (360), followed by Hebron (348), Bethlehem (342), and Nablus (334).
T.R.
