[News] Israeli settlers open fire on Palestinian farmers, killing 1, injuring another

[Anti-Imperialist News]

  Israeli settlers open fire on Palestinian farmers, killing 1, injuring
  another

Nov. 30, 2017 - http://www.maannews.com/Content.aspx?id=779546

Nablus (Ma’an) -- A Palestinian farmer was shot dead by Israeli settlers 
on Thursday while he was working on his land near the village of Qusra, 
to the south of Nablus in the northern occupied West Bank, according to 
local sources.

An official who monitors settlement activity in the northern West Bank 
told Ma'an that Israeli settlers from the illegal Yash Kod settlement 
outpost raided Palestinian lands near Qusra and attacked a farmer, 
Mahmoud Ahmad Zaal Odeh, 48, as he was working the land.

According to locals, Odeh attempted to prevent the settlers from 
entering his land, at which point, the settlers opened fire on him, 
shooting him in the chest. He succumbed to his wounds shortly after he 
was shot.

Another Palestinian identified as Fayez Fathi Hasan, 47, was injured in 
the leg by the settlers' fire. Locals told Ma’an that Israeli forces 
detained Odeh’s son and took him to the Huwwara military base nearby, 
and have not yet returned Odeh’s body to his family.Shortly after the 
deadly attack, Israeli forces raided and surrounded the village to 
protect the settlers, preventing all Palestinian movement in the area.

An Israeli army spokesperson told a completely different account of the 
events to Ma’an, saying that “earlier this morning 20 Israeli civilians 
were travelling near the village of Qusra southeast of nablus,” not 
specifying if the settlers were on foot, or why they were on the 
farmlands in the first place.

“During the trip, Palestinians threw rocks at the group, and in 
response, one of the travellers fired towards the Palestinians, and one 
was injured.”

“The travelers entrenched themselves in a cave,” the spokesperson said, 
adding that shortly after, Israeli army troops arrived in the area to 
protect the settlers.

The spokesperson added that the “incident” will be investigated by the army.

An upwards of some 600,000 Israeli settlers reside in occupied 
Palestinian territory in violation of international law. The 
international community has repeatedly called their presence and rising 
population the main impediment to potential peace in the region.

The UN reported in August 
<https://www.ochaopt.org/content/increase-settler-violence-during-first-half-2017>that 
after a three-year decline of settler attacks on Palestinians, the first 
half of 2017 showed a major increase in such attacks, with 89 incidents 
being documented so far this year, representing an 88 percent increase 
compared to 2016. The attacks during this time period have led to the 
deaths of three Palestinians.

Palestinian activists and rights groups have long accused Israel of 
fostering a “culture of impunity” 
<http://www.maannews.com/Content.aspx?id=771095> for Israeli settlers 
and soldiers committing violent acts against Palestinians.

Israeli authorities served indictments in only 8.2 percent of cases of 
Israeli settlers committing anti-Palestinian crimes in the occupied West 
Bank in the past three years, according to Israeli NGO Yesh Din.
-- 
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