Israeli settlers attack and injure foreign volunteers in the occupied West Bank

Israeli settlers attacked a group of foreign volunteers helping Palestinian farmers in the occupied West Bank on Sunday, leaving some of them injured and requiring hospital treatment, activists and the Israeli army said.

Eight mostly American volunteers were working with farmers in an olive grove near the Palestinian village of Qusra when they were attacked by settlers, said David Hummel, a German-American in the group.

“We were standing there peacefully and posing no threat to anyone as they approached us and pushed us down the path,” Hummel told Agence France-Presse.

“They started attacking and beating us all with sticks and metal pipes, and they also threw stones at us,” he said.

“I was attacked on the legs, on the arms and also here on the jaw and it was … very brutal,” added the volunteer, showing bruises on his face.

The volunteers belong to the International Solidarity Movement, a group that says it sends people to provide a “protective presence” for Palestinians threatened by violence in the West Bank.

02:28

Chinese-Israeli woman among four hostages rescued from Gaza

Chinese-Israeli woman among four hostages rescued from Gaza

According to Hani Odeh, the mayor of Qusra, two women were among the four activists being treated at Rafidia Hospital in the nearby city of Nablus. An Agence France-Presse journalist saw at least three of them being treated at the hospital.

According to the mayor, Israeli troops arrived and fired warning shots in the air to disperse the volunteers and farmers.

An army statement said that “several masked Israeli civilians attacked a group of foreign citizens while they were planting trees in the Qusra area” and that “several” of them needed treatment.

“Soldiers were dispatched to the scene and fired warning shots in the air, causing Israeli civilians to flee the area,” they added, condemning any “acts of violence.”

The volunteers of the ISM, which says it was founded “to resist the Israeli occupation of Palestinian land,” have been in Qusra for about a month, according to the mayor.

The farmers wanted to “clear the land after settlers burned it down some time ago,” Odeh said.

About 10 people from the nearby Israeli settlement of Esh Kodesh arrived to confront the farmers and foreign activists, he added.

Hummel said the group of settlers who attacked her included six women.

Since the ISM began its work, several volunteers have been injured in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. Some have also been arrested.

According to Palestinian authorities, at least 579 Palestinians have been killed in violence involving settlers or Israeli troops since October 7.

According to official Israeli figures, at least 16 Israelis, including soldiers, were killed in attacks involving Palestinians.