Israeli settlers were seen throwing stones at a Palestinian in a video released by a human rights group on Saturday.
The attack took place on Saturday afternoon near the village of Jalud, in the northern West Bank, on land near the Palestinian’s home, according to Yesh Din, a left-wing rights group that documents the violence of settlers in 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 Esh Kodesh’s outpost in the West Bank, said Yesh Din.
ONE @YeshDin a field researcher reports that today at around 1:15 pm, a group of settlers came down from the direction of the Esh Kodesh outpost and attacked a resident of Jalud who was on a plot near his home. pic.twitter.com/C2YpO6atlI
– Lior Amihai (@lioramihai) April 3, 2021
The attack occurred while a Palestinian electrician and the head of the Jalud village council were repairing a post, which the human rights group said the settlers had damaged several months ago.
Settlers can be seen knocking over a post in a separate video released by Yesh Din.
The victim, a man in his 50s, suffered bodily injuries during the attack. It was not clear whether he was the electrician or the village council leader.
Israeli soldiers appeared to separate the parties. Yesh Din said the soldiers threw stunning grenades at Jalud residents who came to help the man being attacked, which was not seen in the videos.
Defense Minister Benny Gantz said: “The incident in which masked Jews attacked a Palestinian and threw stones at him is serious and will be investigated. Whoever throws a stone endangers life. The defense system will act to lay hands on anyone who wants to harm human life. “
The joint list MK 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 making complaints to the police, as “no one investigates the incidents”.
He said many residents had started to install bars on their windows because of the frequency of the attacks.
Settler violence against the Palestinians has increased in recent months after the death of 16-year-old settler Ahuvia Sandak in December, during a police persecution. Sandak’s car collided after he and several others allegedly threw stones at the Palestinians.
Last month, a group of about 10 masked people, allegedly settlers, beat and threw stones at a Palestinian family in the West Bank in an attack that the family recorded on video.
There have also been recent incidents of vandalism against Palestinians in the West Bank and in an incident last month inside Israel.
‘Expel or kill’ and a star of David graffiti on a vehicle in Kfar Qasim, March 25, 2020 (Israeli Police)
A Palestinian village near Jerusalem was vandalized last month in an alleged hate crime attack.
In early March, a suspected hate crime was carried out in the West Bank village of Hawara, with residents claiming that Israeli settlers entered the community late at night and vandalized vehicles and houses.
Israeli police are said to have opened investigations into the three incidents.
Vandalism and attacks against Palestinians and Israeli security forces in the West Bank are commonly called “price tag” attacks, with perpetrators claiming they are retaliating for Palestinian violence or government policies viewed as hostile to the settler movement.
Arrests of perpetrators have been extremely rare and human rights groups regret that the convictions are even more unusual, with most charges in such cases being dropped.
In February, a 17-year-old Israeli settler was indicted for attacks on Palestinian homes and properties. The defendant threw a shock grenade at two houses while families slept inside, police said.
