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Right wing Israelis march from the Jewish settlement of Maale Adumim
to the controversial West Bank area known as E1, on Feb. 13, 2014
(AFP/Menahem Kahana)
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HEBRON (Ma'an) -- Dozens of Israeli settlers late Saturday attacked Palestinian homes in Hebron, and Israeli troops responded to complaints by detaining Palestinians, locals said.

Witnesses told Ma'an settlers from the illegal Israeli settlement of Kiryat Arba hurled rocks at Palestinian homes in the al-Jaabari and al-Raas neighborhoods of Hebron.

Resident Bassam al-Jaabari said Israeli troops escorted the settlers, who in addition to throwing stones, swore at Palestinians in the neighborhoods.

Al-Jaabari said two of his family members approached the soldiers to complain, but that instead of offering assistance, the soldiers detained the two Palestinians.

An Israeli army spokeswoman did not immediately return calls seeking comment.

Settler violence against Palestinians and their property in the occupied West Bank is systematic and ignored by Israeli authorities, who rarely intervene in the violent attacks or prosecute the perpetrators.

In 2013, there were 399 incidents of settler violence against Palestinians in the West Bank, according to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.

More than 500,000 Israeli settlers live in settlements across the West Bank and East Jerusalem, in contravention of international law.

The internationally recognized Palestinian territories of which the West Bank and East Jerusalem form a part have been occupied by the Israeli military since 1967.
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