In a serious escalation, a large group of illegal paramilitary settlers attacked Palestinian civilians and their properties late on Wednesday night for several hours in separate areas of Masafer Yatta, south of Hebron in the occupied West Bank.
According to media sources, armed Israeli settlers, under the protection of the Israeli army, injured several civilians, set fire to two houses, as well as a large piece of land, and stole dozens of sheep from local residents in the “Khallet al-Dabaa” area of Masafer Yatta.
Eyewitnesses told WAFA that, “More than 200 armed settlers, under the protection of the Israeli occupation forces, attacked the homes and properties of civilians in “Khallet al-Dabaa” in Masafer Yatta.”
Sources reported that armed settlers fired live rounds at civilian homes, set fire to a large area of agricultural land, attacked civil defence and destroyed the fire truck.
The settlers then set fire to two houses and smashed the windows and doors of many others. They also destroyed several vehicles and destroyed solar panels.
In addition, the settlers attacked men, women and children with clubs and stones, causing them various bruises and injuries. They also blocked ambulance personnel from reaching the wounded, while the occupying forces watched.
Local resident, Jaber Al-Dababsa, told a WAFA correspondent that, “The occupation forces present on the ground provided protection and assistance to the settlers in their attack on the population, and prevented and hindered the arrival of fire trucks and ambulances, as well as of solidarity activists, to the area.”
According to sources, the settlers stole more than eighty sheep from local Palestinian farmers.
In addition, media sources reported that Israeli forces had kidnapped at least one young Palestinian man, whose identity was unknown at the time of writing.
Earlier on Wednesday, settlers threw stones at Palestinian vehicles near the settlement of “Ma’on”, while others cut off the water supply to the nearby community of “Umm Al-Khair” in Masafer Yatta.
According to media sources, another group of armed paramilitary settlers threw stones at civilian vehicles and smashed their windows, near the illegal settlement of “Ma’on”, built on expropriated Palestinian land.
In addition, settlers from the colonial outpost of Shimon in the nearby community of “Umm Al-Khair” in Masafer Yatta destroyed the water pipeline that supplies water to at least thirty homes.
