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Scene. Credit: (MaanImages/Raed Abu Irmeileh)
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HEBRON (Ma'an) -- A Palestinian teen was run over by an Israeli settler’s vehicle Thursday near the Ibrahimi mosque in Hebron’s Old City, local sources said.

Photojournalist Raed Abu Irmeileh who witnessed the incident told Ma’an that the teen, who was identified by locals as Alaa Ghaleb al-Rajabi, 16, was hit head-on by the settler’s car.

Locals said a Palestinian Red Crescent ambulance transported al-Rajabi to al-Ahli Hospital in Hebron.

Medical staff at al-Ahli Hospital said that al-Rajabi was treated for moderate injuries and is in stable condition.

On Wednesday evening, just a few kilometers from Thursday’s incident, an Israeli settler threatened to shoot a Palestinian family near the illegal settlement of Kiryat Arba in the southern occupied West Bank city.

Israeli settlers in the Hebron area are notoriously aggressive towards Palestinians. Hebron residents frequently report attacks and harassment by the settlers, carried out in the presence of Israeli forces.

Hebron was divided in 1997 under the Oslo agreements. The Israeli military-controlled H2 zone includes the ancient Old City, home of the revered Ibrahimi Mosque -- a frequent site of tensions due to the presence of 500 Israeli settlers in the Old City.

The two most recent incidents of settler violence comes after it was revealed Wednesday that Israel’s security agency uncovered a “Jewish terrorist ring,” which carried out a number of acts of violence targeting Palestinians in the northern occupied West Bank.

At least seven right-wing Israeli extremists were arrested earlier this month after being suspected of belonging to a ring which committed a number of anti-Palestinian acts, Israeli police announced after an Israeli authorities-issued gag order was lifted on the case.

More than 500,000 Israeli settlers live in settlements across the West Bank and East Jerusalem, in contravention of international law.
Settler violence against Palestinians and their property is common but rarely prosecuted by Israeli authorities.