Description

Photo: MaanImages

NABLUS (Ma'an) -- Israeli settlers on Saturday attacked Palestinian farmers while they were working on land east of Qusra village in southern Nablus, a local monitor said.

Ghassan Daghlas,who monitors settlement activity in the northern West Bank, said that settlers from the illegal settlement of Esh Kudesh raided the Buslata area east of Qusra after dozens of Palestinian farmers began working on their land.

Daghlas said that when the farmers resisted, forcing the settlers to retreat, Israeli forces then intervened causing clashes to break out.

Daghlas said Israeli forces shot tear gas canisters and rubber-coated steel bullets at Palestinians, leaving a number of Palestinians injured.

An Israeli army spokesperson said she was looking into the incident.

Settler violence has come under international scrutiny in recent weeks, after a violent attack on the village of Duma -- also in southern Nablus -- killed an 18-month-old Palestinian toddler and his father last month.

The PA security forces have said they will do everything in their power to crack down on violent acts carried out by Israeli settlers, but under the 1993 Oslo Accords, the PA has no jurisdiction over Israeli citizens living in the occupied West Bank.

The Israeli authorities, meanwhile, have systematically failed to hold settlers accountable for attacks on Palestinians and their property, according to rights groups.

Israeli rights group Yesh Din calculated in May that a Palestinian who files a complaint against Israeli settlers has a "1.9 percent chance that his or her complaint will lead to an effective investigation that results in the identification of a suspect and followed by indictment, trial and conviction."

Israeli settlers have carried out at least 120 attacks on Palestinians in occupied East Jerusalem and the West Bank since the start of 2015, according to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.