Key facts
- Israeli settlers attacked Palestinian homes in the Hebron area, stealing sheep.
- Settlers reportedly acted under the protection of Israeli forces.
- A child was hospitalized due to shock and convulsions following one attack.
- Several family members were assaulted and farm animals killed in another incident.
- Attacks by Israeli forces and settlers against Palestinians in the West Bank have increased significantly.
Israeli settlers attacked Palestinian homes in the Wadi al-Rakhim area south of Yatta, near Hebron, on Saturday evening, stealing three sheep, according to the Palestinian news agency Wafa. Local anti-settlement activist Osama Makhamreh stated that armed settlers were accompanied by Israeli forces, who fired live ammunition during the raid. No injuries were reported, but a child, Yaseen Mohammad Shnaran, was hospitalized after suffering severe shock and convulsions.
In a separate incident, armed settlers, reportedly under Israeli military protection, attempted to steal sheep in the Wadi Ajheish area near As-Samu', but residents confronted them and forced them to leave.
In another incident, settlers stormed the home of the Daghameen family, injuring several family members and killing farm animals. Surveillance footage showed settlers battering sheep with long objects. The attack was described as the second time the family home has been subjected to settler violence.
Similar attacks have been reported across the West Bank, with masked settlers from the nearby Susya settlement attacking residents of the agricultural town of Samu. The Colonisation and Wall Resistance Commission reported that in November alone, there were around 2,144 attacks by Israeli forces and settlers against Palestinian civilians and their property, with 1,523 carried out by soldiers and 621 by settlers. The commission estimated that around 40,000 Israeli violations were committed against Palestinians in the West Bank since the start of Israel's war on Gaza.