Young girl said attacked by settlers in West Bank

Police in the West Bank were searching Saturday for a group of settlers who allegedly hurled rocks at a six-year-old Palestinian girl, hitting her in the head and injuring her, the Ynet news site reported.

The girl, from the village of Tuba near the city of Hebron, was out picking herbs to feed to the family’s livestock when she was attacked and pelted with rocks near the illegal outpost of Havat Maon. A second girl was with her at the time.

The assailants were described by an eyewitness as two masked men who appeared to be trying to force the girls away from the settlement.

The young girl was hit in the head and lightly wounded. She received treatment near her home by an Israeli military doctor, who said she did not appear to have been badly hurt.

The family lodged a complaint with police, and authorities in the region were searching for the suspects.

Tensions between the two communities in the area often run high, as vigilantes from both sides regularly throw stones and commit acts of violence and vandalism against one another.