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<h1 class="title">Israeli settlers open fire on Palestinian farmers,
killing 1, injuring another</h1>
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<div class="stamp">Nov. 30, 2017 - <font size="-2"><a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="http://www.maannews.com/Content.aspx?id=779546">http://www.maannews.com/Content.aspx?id=779546</a></font><br>
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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.<br>
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<div>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. <br>
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<div>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. <br>
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<div>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. <br>
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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. <br>
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<div>“During the trip, Palestinians threw rocks at the group, and in
response, one of the travellers fired towards the Palestinians,
and one was injured.”<br>
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<div> “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. <br>
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<div>The spokesperson added that the “incident” will be investigated
by the army.<br>
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<div>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.<br>
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<div>The UN <a
href="https://www.ochaopt.org/content/increase-settler-violence-during-first-half-2017">reported
in August </a>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.<br>
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<div>Palestinian activists and rights groups have long accused
Israel of fostering a <a
href="http://www.maannews.com/Content.aspx?id=771095"
target="_blank">“culture of impunity”</a> for Israeli settlers
and soldiers committing violent acts against Palestinians.<br>
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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.
<div class="moz-signature">-- <br>
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