The Christian Peacemaker Teams, CPT, reported on Tuesday that an Israeli settler killed on June 1 two goats and injured two others after ramming his vehicle into a sheep flock which belongs to a Palestinian shepherd from the village of Ma’in, near the southern West Bank city of Hebron.
The CPT reported that the settler saw the flock crossing road number 317, which is a settler bypass road, and rammed his vehicle into the flock. Two goats were killed and three others were hit in the attack and suffered broken legs.
The CPT also stated that the settlers fled the scene but as he was driving away, he noticed that his license plate was stuck to the horn of one of the goats. He then drove back to the scene and retrieved the plate.
Israeli soldiers, who witnessed the incident, took the settler’s details and handed them to an Israeli police vehicle which arrived at the scene after the settler left.
The CPT stated that Israeli settlers are repeatedly carrying attacks against the Palestinians and their properties.
On 27 March, 2008, an Israeli settler from the illegal outpost of Havot Ma’on shot at a flock of sheep in the area, killing two sheep and narrowly missing the Palestinian shepherd. On 23 February, 2008, settlers from Havot Ma’on attacked several flocks of sheep in the area, kicking one in the head, breaking its teeth. Israeli settlers kicked another sheep, causing it to emit blood while lactating, the CPT reported.
Under the Geneva Conventions, the International Court of Justice in the Hague, and numerous United Nations resolutions, all Israeli settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territories are illegal. The South Hebron Hills contain many settlement outposts that are also illegal under Israeli law, the CPT added.
