March 31, 2009

A group of extremist settlers attacked on Tuesday a number of Palestinian homes in the southern West Bank city of Hebron causing excessive damage and terrifying the residents, especially the children.

Local sources reported that several settlers baring arms and others carrying batons attacked homes adjacent to the Keryat Arba’ illegal settlement, north east of the city, and hurled stones and empty bottles at the windows while chanting slogans calling for killing all Arabs.

Resident Khalawi Jadallah Al Ja’bary, an owner of one of the attacked homes, said that the settlers attacked dozens of homes across the road between Keryat Arba’ settlement and the illegal outpost which was evacuated recently by Israel.

The illegal outpost was evacuated after the Israeli High Court ordered the army to remove the settlers from a home that belong to a resident of Al Rajabi family in the city.

Al Ja’bary also said that the attack lasted for a couple of hours while the army did not attempt to intervene.

The settlers escalated their attacks after former Defense Minister in Israeli, Ehud Barak, decided to decrease the restrictions on the movement of the Palestinian residents heading to the Ibrahimi mosque on a road that was only used by the settlers and their vehicles for seven years.

The road is in the heart of the Arab city, yet the Palestinians were not allowed to use it while the settlers had free access.