Illegal Israeli settlers attack Palestinian Bedouin community in southern West Bank

RAMALLAH, Palestine

On Monday, illegal Israeli settlers, with the support of the Israeli military, attacked a Palestinian Bedouin community and reportedly arrested a Palestinian at the request of the settlers.

The attack took place in Khirbet Zanuta, a Palestinian Bedouin village east of ad-Dhahiriya near Hebron, according to Fayez Tel, chairman of the village council. He told Anadolu that settlers had called Israeli army and police units, allegedly to 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 them and stole one of their goats, falsely claiming it was his own. The settler then called over more settlers and called 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 use such incidents to pressure Palestinian residents to leave their land, making it easier for settlers to occupy their land.

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

In May 2023, Israeli human rights group B'Tselem revealed a plan by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government to evict Palestinian herders and civilians from their land in the occupied West Bank in coordination with illegal settlers, calling it part of the “Israeli apartheid system.”

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

*Written by Ahmed Asmar

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