West Bank settlement of Yitzhar
Photo: AP
Report: Settlers assaulted Palestinian shepherds
Palestinian shepherds claim they were attacked by settlers from Yitzhar that threw stones, stabbed their donkey. In response, settlement states it knows nothing of incident or any residents involved in such an act
Palestinian shepherds complained Monday that settlers attacked them near the west Bank settlement of Yitzhar. The residents of Yitzhar responded by stating: "Our investigation shows no evidence of any resident or youth involved in such an incident."
At 8 pm the IDF reported to police that some settlers attacked shepherds close to Yitzhar and stabbed their donkey. The donkey's status was not reported. Police forces set off to investigate the circumstances of the case.
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Two shepherds told police that they had been herding near the settlement when eight settlers stopped their truck nearby and began to throw stones at them. The shepherds escaped, apparently unharmed, but upon returning found that their donkey had been stabbed. They claimed the assailants had fled in the direction of Yitzhar.
A statement from Yitzhar responded: "The incident reported by police is not known to us at all. Our investigation shows no evidence of any resident or youth involved in such an incident. We are convinced the police will thoroughly investigate this case and expose all of its details, and the settlement, on its part, will do everything possible to assist the investigation."
A similar incident occurred last week, when four Palestinian family members were assaulted by masked attackers while herding their flock south of Mount Hebron. A woman was severely injured and two others were lightly injured. Police have launched an investigation but no one has been apprehended as of yet.
One of the family members video-taped the beginning of the attack, and the tape reached B'tselem, a human rights organization that released it to the press.
