HEBRON, Israeli settlers Thursday evening assaulted a Palestinian in Masafer Yatta, south of Hebron city, according to a local activist.

Coordinator of the Protection and Steadfastness Committee, Fouad al-Amour, told WAFA that a group of settlers hurled stones toward a 59-year-old Palestinian who was heading back to his house in Khirbet al-Mafqara community, inflicting cuts and bruises in his hand.

The casualty was rushed to a nearby medical center for urgent treatment.

The assailants came from the illegal Israeli settlement outpost of Havat Maon.

Masafer Yatta is a collection of almost 19 hamlets which rely heavily on animal husbandry as the main source of livelihood.

Located in Area C of the West Bank, under full Israeli administrative and military control, the area has been subjected to repeated Israeli violations by settlers and soldiers targeting their main source of living – livestock.

It has been designated as a closed Israeli military zone for training since 1980s and accordingly referred to as Firing Zone 918.

Israeli violations against the area include demolition of animal barns, homes and residential structures. Issuance of construction permits by Israel to local Palestinians in the area is non-existent.

Settler violence against Palestinians and their property is routine in the West Bank and is rarely prosecuted by Israeli authorities.

Settler violence includes property and mosque arsons, stone-throwing, uprooting of crops and olive trees, attacks on vulnerable homes, among others.

There are over 700,000 Israeli settlers living in colonial settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem in violation of international law.

Source: Palestinian News & Info Agency