Video: Israeli Settlers Assault Foreign Activists and Palestinian Farmers in West Bank

Masked Israeli settlers assaulted Palestinian farmers and international activists in the West Bank town of Qusra on Sunday. The attack was documented by the victims and captured on video, according to CNN.

The group of eight activists was part of the Palestinian grassroots campaign Defend Palestine, which invites international volunteers to protect Palestinians from settler attacks in the Israeli-occupied West Bank.

Following the attack, two Americans and a German were hospitalized with suspected fractures, while another American volunteer and a Palestinian farmer sustained minor injuries.

Speaking to CNN from a hospital in Nablus, victims Vivi Chen, David Hummel, and Jedda (who withheld her last name) recounted the incident. They explained that they were accompanying Palestinian farmers to their olive fields, which had been off-limits since October due to settler violence. While there, they were approached and attacked by several young settlers wielding wooden sticks.

Videos taken by the activists show them attempting to retreat as the settlers beat them. One volunteer fell immediately, another tried to protect himself with his arms, and a woman was struck with a rock and had her phone and documents destroyed.

Hummel emphasized that the group was non-threatening, with their hands up and attempting to protect each other as they retreated.

Israel captured the West Bank from Jordan in 1967 and began settling Jews there. Today, over 700,000 Jewish settlers live in the West Bank, though the international community considers the area occupied and deems the settlements illegal. Palestinians envision this territory as part of a future independent state.

On Friday, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) declared Israel’s presence in the West Bank and East Jerusalem illegal, calling for an end to the occupation and the evacuation of settlers.

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) acknowledged Sunday’s attack, stating that masked Israeli civilians had assaulted foreign citizens planting trees in the area. The IDF condemned the violence, noting that soldiers were dispatched and fired warning shots, causing the attackers to flee. However, the activists claimed that soldiers initially pointed their guns at a Palestinian man with the group and fired live bullets at him.

The injured activists were treated by the Palestinian Red Crescent at a Nablus hospital. Photos from the hospital showed severe injuries, with Hummel’s face notably swollen.

Mohammed Khatib, an organizer with Defend Palestine, highlighted the need for international protection in Palestine, citing the attack as evidence of settlers’ impunity. Chen expressed that while they were aware of settler violence, their injuries were minor compared to what Palestinians endure daily.

This incident followed another attack on Saturday near Hebron, where Israeli settlers were filmed attacking a Palestinian family with sticks until a soldier intervened with a warning shot.