A group of human rights workers engaged in the project ‘Youth Against Settlements’ in Hebron, in the southern West Bank, reported that late Friday night, a group of activists were sitting in front of the group’s headquarters when a settler fired live rounds from an olive grove nearby.According to the spokesperson for Youth Against Settlements (YAS) in Hebron, the bullet ricocheted off a window behind the human rights workers, but had clearly been targeted at the group. The spokesperson said that the workers heard at least two voices speaking from the olive grove, where the bullet originated.
“At first we thought it was a stone but instead we found a bullet”, said one of the activists.
At 22:15 pm, the group called the Israeli police, who arrived some 40 minutes later at approximately 11 pm, after the police arrived the military joined them and stayed for about 20 minutes. However, none of them searched the premises for the bullet canister.
The activists say that it is extremely likely that this was an attack from one of the neighbouring settlers, as the bullet was bigger than those used by the army. Even though this is the first incident of shooting against ‘Youth Against Settlements’, this was not the first time the house has been attacked by settlers. They have previously tried to burn the house, set the kitchen of the headquarters on fire and uprooted trees. In these incidents, the Israeli army or police have not taken any action against the settlers.
The group added that the Israeli army and police also participate in the harassment of ‘Youth Against Settlements’ and its human rights organizers. On Wednesday alone, the army invaded the house three times during the evening and night for what it is believed to be a training exercise for the army.
