A non-violent protest against the illegal Israeli confiscation of Palestinian land in Yatta village was attacked by Israeli settlers on Saturday afternoon.The settlers threw rocks at the demonstrators, injuring two: Fadel Jibreel Rabae, 46, and Mohammad Ali Shawahin, 19. Eyewitnesses reported that although Israeli troops were stationed nearby, they did not intervene to try to stop the settler violence, nor did they take any action to apprehend the perpetrators.
The protest was held on Saturday afternoon near Yatta village, to protest the confiscation of land in al-Hamra and al-Kharrouba areas. Palestinian villagers were joined by international solidarity activists for the rally, which consisted of speeches, chants and marching to the site of the land confiscation.
Previous settler attacks in Yatta village have involved settlers from Ma’un and Hafat Ma’un settlements, but it is unknown if the settlers who attacked on Saturday were from these two nearby settlements.
In August, settlers uprooted 30 olive trees from a Palestinian orchard in al-Hamra, east of Yatta. This was preceded by multiple incidents including the burning of Palestinian orchards and crops in May, as well as multiple armed assaults on Palestinian farmers in the area.
