DayofPal—A Palestinian farmer from the town of Nahhalin, west of Bethlehem in the southern occupied West Bank, has recounted being assaulted and abducted by Israeli settlers while working on his land.
Yousef Shakarneh said the assault occurred as he was preparing to plant olive trees and plough his field. According to Shakarneh, two armed settlers stormed the land shortly after his arrival, violently pushing him, threatening him at gunpoint, and preventing him from continuing his work.
“They claimed the land was off-limits,” Shakarneh said, stressing that his property is located far from settlements and the separation wall and poses no threat to anyone. He emphasized that those who abducted him were not Israeli soldiers or members of the Israeli Civil Administration, but settlers, unofficial party.
Speaking just hours after his release, Shakarneh described harsh conditions during his detention inside a nearby settlement. He said he was handcuffed, blindfolded, and held for nearly four hours, during which he was subjected to verbal abuse and threats. “The treatment was extremely violent and degrading,” he said.
Despite the ordeal, Shakarneh vowed not to abandon his land. “I will not give up my land,” he said, describing it as the land of his fathers and grandfathers and adding that he has nowhere else to go.
Shakarneh confirmed that such attacks are aimed at preventing Palestinian landowners from cultivating and developing their property, ultimately forcing them to leave and emptying the area of its Palestinian presence.
“I would rather die than leave my land,” he said. “We will remain steadfast despite all these attacks. The settlers come from different parts of the world, while we are the rightful owners of this land.”
Settler attacks in the occupied West Bank has increased significantly, according to Palestinian officials and rights groups. Such attacks are often carried out under the protection of Israeli forces, and include physical assaults, arson, uprooting trees, and theft of property.
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