MASKED SETTLERS CLUB 68-YEAR-OLD PALESTINIAN WOMAN

C O N F I D E N T I A L JERUSALEM 001004

SIPDIS

NEA FOR FRONT OFFICE. NSC FOR ABRAMS/SINGH/PASCUAL

E.O. 12958: DECL: 06/12/2018
TAGS: KWBG PBTS PREL PHUM IS
SUBJECT: MASKED SETTLERS CLUB 68-YEAR-OLD PALESTINIAN WOMAN
IN LAND DISPUTE NEAR HEBRON

Classified By: Consul General Jake Walles, per reasons 1.4 (b) and (d)


1. (C) SUMMARY: Local NGOs have confirmed press reports of
masked settlers beating Palestinians near Hebron on June 8.
According to these sources, two elderly Palestinians were
injured and one was hospitalized. The victims identified the
assailants as settlers from Susiya. Susiya settlers,
neighboring settlers, and settler leaders all denied any
knowledge of the attack in phone calls with PolOff. END
SUMMARY.

Two Elderly Palestinians Beaten
--------------


2. (C) On June 8, local press reported Palestinians south
of Hebron were brutally beaten by Israeli settlers from the
nearby settlement of Susiya in a dispute over agricultural
land. On June 10, Yehuda Shaul of the Israeli NGO "Breaking
the Silence told POLOFF he visited the Nawajah family
involved in the incident, whose matriarch, a 68-year-old
woman, was still hospitalized in Beer Sheva. and scheduled
for release on June 11. Press reported that her 70-year
old-husband was also beaten but not hospitalized. Shaul said
Nawajah family members told him that on June 8 they were
cultivating their land when two settlers wearing shirts over
their faces approached from settler Dalia Har Sinai's
compound in Susiya and ordered them to leave. When the
Nawajahs refused, Shaul said four more settlers arrived, one
carrying a pick, and a settler beat the Palestinians with the
pick's blunt end. Shaul said Israeli police arrived and
administered first aid following the incident, while the
settlers returned to Susiya. Rabbis for Human Rights Director
Erik Asherman recounted the same version of the incident to
PolOff, noting a recent up-tick in settler violence across
the West Bank.

Settlers: "We Only Read
About It in the Paper"
--------------


3. (C) Susiya settler Doron Sar Avi told POLOFF on June 10
that he knew nothing of the incident and "only read about in
the paper like you." Sar Avi said Dalia Har Sinai is a widow
with nine children, who lost her husband in a terrorist
attack near Susiya in July 2001 and who regularly hosts
settler youth at an "agricultural - ecological camp" on land
near her home. Rabbi Asherman said Har Sinai is a fierce
advocate for "Jewish rights to land around Susiya." Settler
Elisha Meidan and other neighboring settlers denied knowledge
of the incident, as did Yesha Council Chairman Dani Dayan.

Investigation initiated
--------------


4. (C) Yehuda Shaul of "Breaking the Silence" said the
Palestinians took video of the attack but provided the only
copy to Israeli police when they arrived and have been unable
to retrieve the tape. The Nawajahs also retained shards from
the broken pick handle used to beat them, he said. According
to Shaul, Israeli police again arrived on June 10 and are
investigating the incident.

WALLES