Ramallah: An illegal Israeli settler violently assaulted an elderly Palestinian woman while she was picking olives east of Ramallah in the West Bank, a video circulated on social media showed on Sunday. The footage depicted a masked settler wielding a stick and attacking the woman, striking her on the head until she collapsed. The attack didn't stop there; the assailant also targeted two foreign activists among the olive trees.
According to Anadolu Agency, Awad Abu Samra, a local activist in the town of Turmus Ayya, reported that the attack occurred in the eastern area of the town. "The settlers attacked us while we were harvesting olives and chased us. One woman fell behind, and a settler hit her on the head with a stick until she fainted. He then attacked two foreign activists at the same site, breaking one of their arms," Abu Samra stated. The victim, Afaf Saleh Abu Alia, in her fifties, was transported to the Consultative Hospital in Ramallah for treatment, with her condition described as stable.
The incident drew condemnation from UN Special Rapporteur Francesca Albanese, who criticized the lack of action from Israelis. "For 2 years, the world has seen scenes like this from the West Bank. I wonder where decent Israelis are; those who protest in Tel Aviv. Hatred of Hamas is one thing, but do they not feel some obligation to act to stop their fellow citizens behaving like criminals on the loose?" Albanese remarked on the US social media company X.
In a related event, the Palestinian Health Ministry stated that one Palestinian was critically injured and another sustained minor injuries from Israeli gunfire in the Jalazone refugee camp in Ramallah. The official Voice of Palestine Radio reported that the Israeli army sent reinforcements to the camp and arrested a young man in the area.
According to data by the Colonization and Wall Resistance Commission, illegal Israeli settlers have carried out 7,154 assaults on Palestinians and their properties in the occupied West Bank over the past two years. These assaults have resulted in the death of 34 Palestinians and the forced migration of 33 Bedouin communities. Additionally, local authorities revealed that more than 1,056 Palestinians have been killed, around 10,300 wounded, and over 20,000 arrested, including 1,600 children, since the Gaza war began two years ago.
In a significant ruling last July, the International Court of Justice declared Israel's occupation of Palestinian territory illegal and called for the evacuation of all settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem.