Israeli Settler Threatens Palestinian Family with Gun Near Hebron

Hebron, 15 Rajab 1437/22 April 2016 (MINA) – An Israeli settler threatened to shoot a Palestinian family near the illegal settlement of Kiryat Arba in the southern occupied West Bank on Wednesday evening.

Yahya Basal told Ma’an that his three children Mustafa, 19, Muntaser, 17, and Shaima, six, as well as Mustafa’s two-year-old daughter Layan, were driving home to the Wadi al-Juz neighborhood in eastern Hebron when an Israeli vehicle stopped in front of them on Route 60 at around 8 p.m.

An Israeli settler stepped out of the car holding a gun and pointed it at the Palestinian family.

Basal added that his son Mustafa quickly drove back onto Route 35 to save his siblings’ and daughter’s lives, but that the settler vehicle chased them until they entered into the Farsh al-Hawa area, which Israelis are prohibited from entering.

The Basal family then informed a Palestinian security patrol that was deployed in the area of what had just happened, before returning home safely at 10 p.m.

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.

Mistreatment of Palestinians in the Hebron area has been common since the city was divided in 1997 under the Oslo agreements.

The area is home to 30,000 Palestinians and around 800 Israeli settlers who live under the protection of Israeli forces.

The majority of the city was placed under the jurisdiction of the Palestinian Authority, while the Old City and surrounding areas were placed under Israeli military control, known as H2.

Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem are deemed illegal under international law.

More than 200 Palestinians and nearly 30 Israelis have been killed since a surge in violence began in the occupied Palestinian territory last October. (T/R07/R01)

Mi’raj Islamic News Agency (MINA)