Description

RAMALLAH, April 22, 2012 (WAFA) - The Israeli army on Saturday detained five Palestinian shepherds during a non-violent demonstration near Hebron, Sunday said an Operation Dove press release.

It said about 80 people, including Palestinians, Israeli activists and international volunteers, gathered in the Kharrouba Valley and Meshaha Hill, near At-Tuwani village south of Hebron, for a pacific demonstration marking the occasion of the harvest and claiming Palestinians’ right to graze and cultivate on their lands.

About 20 Palestinians were harvesting barley and seven shepherds were grazing their flocks, when several settlers from the nearby illegal outpost of Havat Ma'on approached the demonstration, accompanied with a large number of Israeli soldiers, including members of the police, the District Coordination Office and Border Guard, said Operation Dove.

Shortly after, Israeli forces arrested five Palestinian shepherds in the area and transferred them to Kiryat Arba police station for supposedly “grazing on Israeli state land”.

The shepherds were released later on the same day, however, no official paper was shown to the lawyers committed to the case in support of this charge, added the press release.

The area near Havat Ma'on witnesses several settlers’ attacks against Palestinian shepherds, crops and olive trees.

M.H./F.R.