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In the last days of September, violent incidents in the South Hebron Hills area of the Occupied West Bank attracted media attention across the political spectrum in Israel, but scant mention in mainstream Western press. The incidents involved a small army of radical settlers who attacked a tiny but strategically placed Palestinian village, where several days earlier IDF soldiers had beat up middle-aged peace activists with Combatants for Peace<\/a> and two other NGOs who had been bringing water to the village.<\/p>\n Some 60 masked settlers rampaged through the tiny village of Khirbet al-Mafaqarah, destroying cars and water carriers and smashing windows in homes.\u00a0A dozen Palestinian residents were injured by the attackers, including a three-year-old boy, who was taken to hospital in nearby Be\u2019er Sheva. Palestinian residents said such a highly organized level of settler violence is rare, though incidents involving throwing stones and cutting down olive trees take place regularly.<\/p>\n 1\/8 Dozens of masked settlers set out from the settlements of Havat Ma\u2019on and Avigail and attacked the residents of nearby Khirbet al-Mufaqarah. Escorted by Israeli security forces, pic.twitter.com\/evPIMGQw0w<\/a><\/p>\n — B'Tselem \u05d1\u05e6\u05dc\u05dd \u0628\u062a\u0633\u064a\u0644\u0645 (@btselem) September 29, 2021<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n
Yesterday, on the Jewish holiday of Simchat Torah, a pogrom took place in the South Hebron Hills.<\/p>\n