Settlers Assault Palestinian Shepherds, Israeli Activists in West Bank

Settlers twice assaulted a group of Palestinian shepherds and Israeli activists who were helping them in the northern Jordan Valley in the West Bank on Saturday.

According to statements given by activists at the scene – near the settlement of Shadmot Mehola – a group of settlers threw rocks at the shepherds and at vehicles and beat the shepherds with sticks and stun guns. Police and army forces arrived only after the assailants left the scene, the activists said.

Activists said that in the morning, the assailants approached one of the shepherds and an Israeli activist who was helping him. They threw rocks at the shepherd's car and threatened and beat both of them. In video of the incident, one of the settlers tells the shepherd: "Why do you return? You know you are not allowed to be here."

The activist who was with the shepherd is Nurit Ofer, a member of the organization Jordan Valley Activists. "We saw a vehicle approaching us, the shepherd recognized them and wanted us to get into his car and drive away," she said. "They came nearer, one of [the settlers] approached the car, one of them tried to get in and I stopped him. They knocked my phone out of my hand twice, one of them also punched me. The shepherd got a kick in the back, and one rock they threw at the end hit my leg."

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https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/2024-06-16/ty-article/.premium/settlers-assault-palestinian-shepherds-israeli-activists-in-west-bank/00000190-2235-df11-a3b9-a337fabe0000