Settlers attack farmers, demolish tent near Bethlehem

A group of Israeli settlers attacked on Tuesday afternoon, Palestinian farmers in Jeb al-Theb village, east of Bethlehem. Hassan Breijiyeh, Coordinator of Popular Resistance Committee to Resist Wall and Settlement in Bethlehem, said that settlers, under the protection of Israeli Army, prevented farmers from reaching their land to cultivate it.Breijiyeh told PNN that the popular committee, the National Farmers' Union (NFU) and residents from al-Zawahreh and al-Masa'deh families headed to cultivate their lands in the village within an activity organized to support the Palestinian residents in that area, but they were surprised to find a group of Israeli soldiers and settlers. He also said that the settlers prevented the farmers from entering their land.Breijiyeh added that verbal altercations erupted between the farmers and settlers who were carrying weapons and escorted by dogs.He pointed out that this activity bares a message to the Palestinian leadership and civil institutions that the Palestinians in these threatened lands must be supported and protected.In a related context, Rateb al-Jbour, Coordinator of Popular Resistance Committee to Resist Wall and Settlement in Hebron, said that a group of settlers from Susiya illegal settlement demolished Monday night, a tent belonging to the Palestinian resident Izz Ghaith in Wad al-Rakhem, south of Yatta.Al-Jbour condemned these brutal procedures that Israeli settlers and IOF forces committed against the Palestinian residents and their property, in an attempt to displace them and seize their land.