Details of the Attack on Deir Abu Mashal Residents
A young man named Sanad Zahran, one of the victims of the recent settler attack in the village of Deir Abu Mashal, located northwest of Ramallah, has revealed the disturbing details surrounding the incident which resulted in injuries to four members of a single family, including one serious injury. In a media interview, Zahran recounted that a group of settlers aggressively confronted the citizens while they were tending to their lands. He described how a vehicle carrying several settlers stopped nearby, allowing its occupants to disembark and approach the victims directly.
Zahran further explained that the settlers opened fire when the citizens attempted to return to their vehicle, subsequently launching a violent assault utilizing batons, stones, axes, and sharp tools. The brutal attack continued until the injured individuals could no longer move. Disturbingly, Zahran noted that after incapacitating their victims, the settlers proceeded to steal their mobile phones before fleeing the scene.
Context of the Attack Amid Rising Tensions
According to local sources, the incident took place in the area known as "Hill of the Qarnah," south of Deir Abu Mashal, where a group of citizens faced direct aggression from the settlers, resulting in various injuries. This violent encounter occurred just hours after dozens of local residents successfully dismantled a settlement outpost established on village lands, an action that sparked confrontations with Israeli occupation forces, who responded by extensively deploying tear gas against the protesting citizens.
Additionally, Israeli forces had raided the village during Friday prayers in an attempt to prevent residents from reaching the Hill of the Qarnah to protest the settlement outpost, under the pretext that the army would handle its removal. However, in a troubling turn of events, settlers reestablished a settlement tent at the same location on Friday morning, mere days after it had been removed by a court order, a move that the local community perceives as an ongoing effort to solidify a settler presence on their lands.
These assaults are taking place amid a significant increase in settler violence in the West Bank, with the Wall and Settlement Resistance Commission documenting a staggering 1,659 incidents of aggression throughout May alone, including 551 perpetrated by settlers.
As reported by palinfo.com.
