AL-KHALIL, (Palestine Foundation Information Center), A Palestinian shepherd was assaulted on Monday by armed settlers in the Masafer Yatta desert, south of al-Khalil in the occupied West Bank, after stealing his sheep.
Local sources reported that armed settlers chased Haitham Aayed Mar, blocked his path near the al-Daqiqa area, and severely beat him, leaving him with bruises. They also smashed his mobile phone and seized seven of his sheep.
In a related incident, an armed settler released his livestock into Palestinian agricultural lands in the Huwara area of Masafer Yatta and attempted to assault residents in the area.
The occupied West Bank has witnessed a continued escalation in settler violence, which has grown more severe following the Israeli cabinet’s approval of measures aimed at reshaping land administration and registration, further advancing annexation plans.
According to the Wall and Settlement Resistance Commission, Israeli forces and settlers carried out 1,872 attacks in January. These included the forced displacement of 125 Bedouin families, attempts to establish nine new settlement outposts, the confiscation of 744 dunums of land, and the demolition of 126 structures.
