[News] Israeli settlers attack tourists and Palestinians on West Bank hike

[Anti-Imperialist News]

middleeasteye.net
<https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/israel-palestine-settlers-attack-injure-tourists-west-bank-hike>
Israeli settlers attack tourists and Palestinians on West Bank hike
By MEE staff - January 14, 2023
------------------------------

Italian national's arm is fractured and bruised as others suffer burns from
pepper spray

[image: Israeli settler seen on video attacking Palestinian and foreign
hikers north of the occupied West Bank city of Jericho on 13 January 2023
(Screengrab)]

Israeli settler seen on video attacking Palestinian and foreign hikers
north of the occupied West Bank city of Jericho on 13 January 2023
(Screengrab)

Published date: 14 January 2023 16:15 UTC | Last update: 1 day 2 hours ago

A group of Israeli <https://www.middleeasteye.net/countries/israel>
settlers attacked and wounded Palestinian
<https://www.middleeasteye.net/countries/palestine> hikers and foreign
tourists while they were walking a trail in the occupied
<https://www.middleeasteye.net/topics/occupation> West Bank on Friday.

An Italian national's arm was fractured and bruised, while others suffered
from burns as settlers sprayed pepper gas on their faces and used clubs and
batons to hit them, Palestinian news agency Wafa reported
<https://english.wafa.ps/Pages/Details/132782>.

Horrific videos came in this afternoon of an apparent attack by Jewish
settlers on Palestinian hikers near Al-Auja, occupied West Bank.
https://t.co/0cQX0KVPUy pic.twitter.com/cRg9LgV51Z <https://t.co/cRg9LgV51Z>
— Jalal (@JalalAK_jojo) January 13, 2023
<https://twitter.com/JalalAK_jojo/status/1613963524686118912?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw>

Samira, an Italian national who was part of the tour, told the Israeli
newspaper Haaretz
<https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/2023-01-14/ty-article/.premium/group-of-palestinians-and-tourists-attacked-by-settlers-while-hiking-in-west-bank/00000185-afe7-db30-adc7-efff65f90000>
that six people were involved in the attack near Al-Auja town, north of
Jericho. So far, no one has been arrested.

"When we were nearing the end, settlers arrived with batons and pepper
spray. They prevented us from continuing to walk and started attacking us,"
Samira told Haaretz.

The attackers also threatened to kill the tourists, Wafa said.

After a two-hour wait for Israeli forces to arrive, the group of around 40
hikers, which included American, French and Italian nationals, were finally
escorted to their bus.

Settler attacks in the West Bank against Palestinians and foreigners,
including Israeli peace activists, are common.

According to the United Nations, settler violence has been on a
year-to-year upward trend
<https://www.ohchr.org/en/press-releases/2022/12/israel-un-experts-condemn-record-year-israeli-violence-occupied-west-bank#:~:text=At%20least%20two%20Palestinians%20were,occupied%20West%20Bank%20in%202022.>
since 2016.

<https://www.middleeasteye.net/opinion/israel-far-right-government-mask-removed-western-complacency>

Israel's far-right government removes the mask that enabled western
complacency

In 2022, at least 755 attacks
<https://www.ochaopt.org/poc/6-19-december-2022> by settlers were recorded
by the UN, 161 of them leading to casualties and 594 leading to damage to
properties including damage to more than 13,130
<https://www.lrcj.org/media-8-3528.html> Palestinian-owned olive trees.

Violence carried out by settlers includes the use of live fire, physical
assaults, arson attacks and the uprooting of olive trees.

Settlers were suspected of killing at least five Palestinians last year,
including Ali Hasan Harb
<https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/israeli-settler-stabs-palestinian-man-death-west-bank-health-ministry>,
28, who was stabbed to death while peacefully rebuffing an assault by
settlers on private Palestinian land in Salfit.

UN experts accuse Israeli authorities of being complicit in settler
violence.

They said
<https://www.ohchr.org/en/press-releases/2022/12/israel-un-experts-condemn-record-year-israeli-violence-occupied-west-bank#:~:text=At%20least%20two%20Palestinians%20were,occupied%20West%20Bank%20in%202022.>
last month: "Armed and masked Israeli settlers are attacking Palestinians
in their homes, attacking children on their way to school, destroying
property and burning olive groves, and terrorising entire communities with
complete impunity.

"Disturbing evidence of Israeli forces frequently facilitating, supporting
and participating in settler attacks, makes it difficult to discern between
Israeli settler and State violence."

Nearly 700,000 settlers live in more than 250 settlements and outposts
across the West Bank and East Jerusalem in violation of international law.

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