With the expansion of the Kiryat Arba settlement, Israeli settler attacks on Palestinian families in Wadi Nasara, a valley on the outskirts of Hebron, have increased. Residents reported six violent incidents in the first ten days of August.
August 1: A group of 20 stone-wielding settlers attacked a wedding party at the Jaabari family home injuring five Palestinians. Three people, including a pregnant woman, were hospitalized for treatment of their injuries.
August 2: A group of 30 settlers entered the Jaabari land and attacked Palestinians passing in the street. Again five Palestinians went to the hospital with injuries.
August 4: Settlers threw stones at two families’ homes in Wadi Nasara.
August 5: Settlers threw stones at a 79-year-old man picking almonds on his land and then beat him. CPTers visiting him four days later saw that his arm was covered in bruises.
August 6: Settlers threw stones at a home next to the Kiryat Arba settlement.
August 8: Settlers stoned the home of the Jaabari family and stole four of the family’s sheep.
“The problem is the soldiers,” said Issa Amro, a Palestinian human rights worker with the Israeli organization B’Tselem. Israeli soldiers detained Amro when he tried to film the August 1 assault on the wedding party. He said soldiers consistently allow such violence to continue.
Settlers have damaged roofs and solar panels, thrown garbage into Palestinians’ yards, shouted threats, and even burned down homes. The situation has prompted CPT and other human rights workers to visit Wadi Nasara regularly since February.