Illegal Israeli settlers attack Palestinian Bedouin community in southern West Bank

By Awad al-Rujoub

RAMALLAH, Palestine (AA) - Illegal Israeli settlers on Monday attacked a Palestinian Bedouin community, with the backing of Israeli forces, who reportedly arrested a Palestinian at the settlers' request.

The attack took place in Khirbet Zanuta, a Palestinian Bedouin village east of ad-Dhahiriya near Hebron, according to the head of the village council, Fayez Tel. He told Anadolu that settlers had called for Israeli army and police units to allegedly search for a goat.

Mohammad al-Battat, 58, a member of the Bedouin community, said he and others were grazing their livestock when a settler approached and seized one of their goats, falsely claiming it as his own. The settler then summoned more settlers and called in Israeli forces, who arrested al-Battat and confiscated the goat.

Al-Battat was detained by the Israeli army for eight hours before being released on bail, while the goat remained with the settler.

The official Palestinian news agency, Wafa, reported that Israeli forces and settlers are using such incidents to pressure Palestinian residents to leave their lands, making it easier for settlers to seize them.

According to the Palestinian government’s Colonization and Wall Resistance Commission, since Oct. 7, 2023, illegal Israeli settlers have killed 19 Palestinians, injured more than 785 others, and displaced 28 Bedouin communities.

In May 2023, the Israeli human rights group B’Tselem revealed a plan by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government to expel Palestinian shepherds and civilians from their land in the occupied West Bank in coordination with illegal settlers describing it as part of the "Israeli apartheid system."

As per Israeli estimates, more than 720,000 settlers live in illegal settlements across the occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem. The Israeli settlements are considered illegal under international law.

*Writing by Ahmed Asmar