Israeli settlers were seen pelting a Palestinian man with stones in a video released by a rights group on Saturday.
The attack took place on Saturday afternoon near the town of Jalud in the northern West Bank on a piece of land near the Palestinian man’s house, according to Yesh Din, a left-wing right-wing group documenting the settler violence on the West Bank.
In the video, masked men can be seen hitting the man with a stick and throwing stones at him.
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The attackers came from the direction of the Esh Kodesh outpost in the West Bank, Yesh Din said.
A @YeshDin field researcher reports that a group of settlers descended from the direction of the Esh Kodesh outpost today around 13:15 and attacked a resident of Jalud who was on a plot of land near his house. pic.twitter.com/C2YpO6atlI
– Lior Amihai (@lioramihai) 3 April 2021
The attack took place while a Palestinian electrician and the head of the Jalud village council were repairing a utility pole, which according to the rights group damaged the settlers a few months ago.
In a separate video released by Yesh Din, settlers can be seen tilting a pole.
The victim, a man in his 50s, sustained bodily injuries during the attack. It was not clear if he was the electrician or town council leader.
Israeli soldiers appeared on the scene to separate the parties. Yesh Din said the troops fired stun grenades at residents of Jalud who came to help the man who was attacked, which was not seen in the videos.
Defense Secretary Benny Gantz said: “The incident in which masked Jews attacked and threw stones at a Palestinian is serious and will be investigated. Whoever throws a stone endangers life. The defense agency will act to get everyone involved who wants to harm human life. ”
The joint list of Ahmad Tibi and Nitzan Horovitz, head of the left-wing Meretz party, also condemned the attack.
Last month, stones were thrown at cars and windows in Jalud.
Abdullah Haj Mohammed, head of the Jalud village council, said at the time that there was no point in filing police complaints because “no one is investigating the incidents.”
He said many residents had started installing bars on their windows due to the frequency of the attacks.
Ordinary settlers against Palestinians have increased in recent months following the death of 16-year-old settler Ahuvia Sandak in December during a police chase. The car in which Sandak was driving crashed after he allegedly threw stones at several other Palestinians.
Last month, a group of about 10 masked men, allegedly settlers, beat a Palestinian family in the West Bank and threw stones in an attack that the family captured on video.
There have also been recent incidents of vandalism against Palestinians in the West Bank and in one incident last month in Israel.
‘Expel or kill’ and a star of David are on a vehicle in Kfar Qasim on March 25, 2020 (Israel Police)
A Palestinian village near Jerusalem was vandalized last month in a suspected attack on hate crime.
Earlier in March, a suspected hate crime was carried out in the town of Hawara on the West Bank, with residents claiming that Israeli settlers had entered the night and destroyed vehicles and houses.
The Israeli police apparently investigated all three incidents.
Vandalism and attacks on Palestinians and Israeli security forces in the West Bank are commonly referred to as ‘price attack’ attacks, with offenders claiming revenge for Palestinian violence or government policies that are seen as hostile to the settler movement.
Arrests of offenders were extremely rare and rights groups lamented that convictions are still uncommon, and most charges in such cases are dropped.
In February, a 17-year-old Israeli settler was charged with attacks on Palestinian homes and property. Police said the accused threw a stun grenade into two houses.
