7 Dec. '08: Security forces stand idly by during settler rioting in Hebron

Last Thursday, following the eviction of settlers from the Jewish settlement in the a-Ras neighborhood in Hebron, B'Tselem called on security forces to protect the city’s Palestinian residents and Palestinians living elsewhere in the West Bank from anticipated acts of revenge by settlers.

A settler shooting a Palestinian in Hebron. Footage by Jamal Abu Sa'ifan, B'Tselem camera distribution project, 4 Dec. '08.

Despite the request, and the great likelihood that such acts would occur, security forces failed to provide suitable protection to Palestinian residents of the city in the hours following the eviction, during which settlers made incursions into Palestinian neighborhoods, torched houses and cars, threw stones, shattered windows, and damaged solar water containers, satellite dishes and water tanks. In one case, settlers shot two Palestinians, a father and son. The shooting was filmed by a member of the family on a camera that he received through B'Tselem’s camera distribution project. On Saturday night, the media reported that the two settlers suspected of the shooting had turned themselves in to the authorities.

At the same time, settlers attacked Palestinians elsewhere in the West Bank, throwing stones at houses and vehicles, destroying property, setting fires, and scrawling graffiti on the walls of mosques.