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In this photo taken Tuesday, July 12, 2016, Yehuda Shaul, front, co-founder of Breaking The Silence, and Irish author Colm Toibin visit Susiya archaeological park, south of Hebron, West Bank. Credit: Nasser Nasser/AP. Published by Haaretz
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by Yotam Berger for Haaretz

On Friday police arrested a right-wing activist on suspicion of assaulting Breaking the Silence founding member, Yehuda Shaul, in the West Bank city of Hebron.

The suspect allegedly hit Shaul in the face, injuring him. The incident occurred during a tour by Breaking the Silence, an anti-occupation veterans' NGO, in Hebron. An image released by Breaking the Silence showed Shaul apparently bleeding from his mouth. Police confirmed that a suspect had been arrested.

According to Shaul's attorney, Michael Sfard, police said the suspect was released after questioning and was ordered not to enter Hebron for two days.

"For nearly a decade and a half, the Hebron settlers have been trying to violently prevent the Breaking the Silence tours," said Sfard. "They have not succeeded until now despite the shameful failure of the police and the military to protect the tours and stop the attackers, and they will not succeed in the future. We will continue to arrive and tell the public about the brutal occupation in Hebron.

Breaking the Silence Executive Director Avner Gvaryahu responded to the incident saying: The blood on the face of Yehuda Shaul, a founder of Breaking the Silence, was spilled by the Netanyahu government, which is promoting laws of silencing. We will return to Hebron in the coming days and we will continue to expose to the public the occupation's destructive consequences."

Earlier this month, another Breaking the Silence guide was attacked by a right-wing activist who poured paint over her while she was guiding a tour in Hebron.