BETHLEHEM, Colonial Israeli settlers today assaulted a number of Palestinian herders while grazing their sheep near the village of Kisan, to the east of Bethlehem in the occupied West Bank, according to local sources.

Ahmad Gazal, a local Palestinian activist, told WAFA that a group of settlers pelted with stones and physically assaulted three Palestinian herders while grazing their sheep near the village and forced them to leave. No injuries were reported.

Attacks by Israeli settlers on Palestinians are commonplace, but attacks on farmers and herders have particularly intensified during the recent years. Most of these attacks often occur in the presence of the Israeli occupation army, which usually does nothing to stop the attackers and rather provides them with protection.

Armed settlers and soldiers often prevent Palestinian shepherds from herding in the open pastures of the occupied West Bank in order to force them to abandon the area.

Source: Palestine News Agency