From the Liveblog of
Thursday, March 13, 2025
Police say settler attacked while herding sheep in West Bank
Jeremy Sharon is The Times of Israel’s legal affairs and settlements reporter
A resident of the illegal settlement farming outpost of Givat Mikne Avraham in the southern West Bank was attacked and injured by at least one Palestinian assailant close to the settlement of Maale Amos, the police report.
Images posted to social media by settler activists show a man badly bloodied due to a wound to his head.
According to the police the settler, who was described as a shepherd, was alone in an area close to Maale Amos, an isolated settlement under the jurisdiction of the Gush Etzion Regional Council, when he was attacked by a masked Palestinian.
Activists representing residents of illegal outposts claim that the Israeli was herding his goats and was attacked by six assailants, although the police confirmed only one suspected attacker.
“According to the report, the suspect arrived at the place and began throwing stones at the shepherd. When the latter tried to flee, the suspect chased after him and brutally attacked him with a club, striking him on the head and in the ribs,” the police say.
The outpost resident managed to make his way to Maale Amos, where medical professionals gave him first aid. He was sent to a hospital with mild injuries.
Police Commander of the Judea and Samaria District Moshe Pinchi instructed police forces to “use all operational and technological means in order to find the assailant and bring him to justice,” the police say in a statement.
Police say they launched an “intense” manhunt for the suspect.
“We view the attack severely and will use all tools in order to get to those who carried it out,” the statement reads.
Civil rights activists campaigning for Palestinian rights have posted reports and footage of several incidents of alleged settler violence which took place yesterday in the West Bank. The police have yet to comment on those.
Givat Mikne Avraham was established last year, according to the Peace Now organization, which campaigns against settlement activity.
It appears to be populated by a handful of activists who raise livestock. The explicit goal of such agriculture outposts is to seize control of as much land as possible in Area C of the West Bank.
