Israeli forces, settlers beat elderly Palestinian woman in Hebron

Israeli forces and settlers on Saturday night attacked Palestinian civilians in the Sahla neighbourhood in the old city of Hebron, according to the Palestinian Authority's news agency Wafa.

Backed by an army unit, the settlers reportedly attacked seven Palestinian civilians, including two brothers and an elderly woman.

The Palestinians were lightly wounded and bruised.

Four Palestinians were detained following the Israeli attack.

Hebron is known to be an exceptionally hostile environment for Palestinian residents, due to its high concentration of settlers in the city.

Palestinians in Hebron are routinely harassed by Israeli settlers and soldiers. Their homes are subject to demolition to make way for new Israeli settlements and olive trees are uprooted.

Israel has occupied the West Bank illegally since 1967 and commits various abuses against Palestinian civilians, human rights groups say.

More than 600,000 Jewish Israelis live in settlements in the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem, in constructions deemed illegal under international law.

In April, the UN raised alarm over a marked upsurge in settler violence against Palestinians in the occupied West Bank, with assaults and property destruction occurring in "an atmosphere of impunity".

In the first three months of 2021, the Office of Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) documented over 210 settler violent incidents, with one Palestinian fatality.

The attacks, according to the UN agency, were primarily designed to take over land but also to intimidate and terrorise Palestinians.

The UN group urged Israel to investigate and prosecute these "violent acts with vigour and resolve".