Two Palestinian youth were reportedly assaulted by a Jewish mob in Jerusalem, on Friday evening, according to Haaretz. Israeli forces vandalized the premises of public institutions, Saturday, in Al-Bireh.Amir Shwiki and Samer Mahfouz, both 20 years old and from Beit Khanina, were apparently attacked with iron bars and baseball bats while walking to a Light Rail station, following the evening Ramadan meal.
‘A man came from the direction of Neve Ya’akov (a Jerusalem neighborhood),’ Samer told Haaretz. ‘He said give me a cigarette. I told him I don’t have any, and he heard I’m Arab and went away, coming back with his friends, maybe 12 people. They had sticks and iron bars and they hit us over the head.’
The two were seriously wounded and lost consciousness during the beating, upon which they were hospitalized in Hadassah University Hospital, Ein Karem, Jerusalem.
Violence by Israeli settlers against Palestinians and their property is ongoing in the region, and has been in a state of extreme escalation since the death of 16-year-old Muhammad Abu Khdeir, who was recently tortured and burned to death by Jerusalem settlers, the apparent victim of a revenge killing over the disappearance of 3 Israeli settlers who went missing from the West Bank just prior to Khdeir’s murder.
See: 3 Suspects to be Charged in Khdeir Murder
New Reports Show That Murder of 3 Israeli Teenage Settlers Was Not Carried Out by Hamas
Reports of vandalism, including that of agricultural lands, homes and vehicles, as well as both Christian and Muslim holy sites frequently surface from numerous locations all across Israel and occupied Palestine, with the majority of such acts being perpetrated by colonial settlers, and often with the backing of Israeli military and/or police.
Israeli forces vandalized the premises of public institutions, Saturday, including those of the Palestinian Anti-Corruption Commission in Al-Bireh, located near Ramallah, according to an official.
WAFA Palestinian News & Info Agency reports that President of the Palestinian Anti-Corruption Commission Rafiq, Al-Natsha, said that forces stormed the building housing Commission, Higher Shariah Court Council, and the PLO Refugees Affairs Department near the City-Inn roundabout.
They fired live ammunition, rubber-coated metal bullets and tear gas canisters at the commission premises, causing damage to the building, its windows and exterior walls, in addition to several vehicles that were parked there, including Al-Natsha’s, throwing stones and firing bullets at their wind shields.
In addition to the ongoing siege and recurring military strikes in the Gaza Strip, there are currently over 500,000 Israeli settlers living on Palestinian land stolen from its original owners. These settlements have been constructed for the purpose of the transfer of Israeli civilians into land seized by the Israeli military occupation, in contravention of international law to which Israel is signatory.
