On Tuesday night, November 18, a group of about 50, mostly masked, settlers from Yitzhar attacked Palestinians in the West Bank village of Urif under the protection and escort of IDF soldiers, reported the Israeli human rights NGO Yesh Din. Video footage of the incident, which took place just hours after the terror attack on a Jerusalem synagogue, clearly shows that occupation soldiers not only did nothing to stop the assault on Palestinians, but were in fact guarding the settlers as they hurled stones.
In the video footage, some of the soldiers appear to be firing weapons for crowd-dispersal at young Palestinians who gathered at the edge of the village. A 13-year-old student from the village school was slightly wounded by a stone thrown at his head, according to Yesh Din. At 54 seconds into the video, a masked Israeli settler can be seen standing safely behind the soldiers and hurling a stone in the direction of Palestinians while the soldiers look on.
According to the Yesh Din, Tuesday’s attack is just the latest case in which the IDF failed to protect Palestinian residents of the West Bank as it is obliged to do as an occupying force under international law. “Once again we discover IDF soldiers failing to meet their obligation to protect Palestinians who, in their own backyards, are being subjected to vicious attacks by settlers,” said attorney Emily Schaeffer Omer-Man, legal advisor to Yesh Din’s Criminal Accountability of Israeli Security Forces project. “The disturbing video footage demands vigorous investigation and the immediate prosecution of the soldiers involved. An examination must also be carried out of whether the soldiers’ commanders bear liability for the conduct of their subordinates,” she added.
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