Ref: 16/2011

The Palestinian Centre for Human Rights (PCHR)
strongly condemns the attack which was jointly launched by a number of Israeli
settlers and the Israeli occupation forces (IOF) against Palestinian civilians
in Qusra village in the southeast of Nablus. PCHR expresses grave concern
regarding this attack, which resulted in the wounding of seven Palestinian civilians.
PCHR is concerned with the increasing number of attacks by Israeli settlers
against Palestinian civilians and their property and stresses that the
existence of Israeli settlers in the Occupied Palestinian Territories (OPT) is
illegal. PCHR calls upon the international community to intervene and exert
pressure on the government of Israel in order to end all settlement activities
in the OPT.

According to PCHR investigations and statements
given by eyewitnesses, at approximately 16:00 o’clock on Monday, 07 March 2011,
ten settlers from “Yesh Ad” settlement, which is located in the south
of Qusra village in the southeast of Nablus, attacked an elderly woman, Thiba
Salama, and her son Umar Abed Tawfiq Abdul Majid Salama, 23, who were plowing their
land. Three of the settlers were carrying M16 automatic rifles, one of them was
carrying a pistol, and the others were carrying shovels and sticks. The
settlers first stoned the two Palestinians and then beat them, forcing them to
flee to the village. The two Palestinians told the villagers that the settlers
were uprooting olive trees approximately 500 meters from the outskirts of the
village. Shortly after, the villagers were called upon through speakerphones in
mosques to go and defend the targeted lands. Dozens of Palestinian civilians
from the village rushed to the scene to confront the settlers. As they arrived
at the scene, settlers and Israeli soldiers, who had arrived at the scene to
provide protection to the settlers, fired bullets, rubber coated bullets and
stun grenades at them. Seven Palestinian civilians, including a child, were
wounded as a result, two civilians suffered tear gas inhalation and three
others sustained bruises from beatings by the settlers. The wounded were
transferred to hospitals in Nablus city for treatment. Medical sources
described the wounds of three of the injured to be very serious. Eyewitnesses
reported that fire was opened at the Palestinian civilians from a 70-meter
distance. The wounded Palestinians are:

1. Ibrahim Yousef Fayez Darwish, 16, who was
wounded by a bullet that penetrated the left side of his body and exited at the
right side. His wounds were described to be serious.

2. Qaher Awad Allah Abdullah Odeh, 25, who was
wounded by two bullets in the legs. One of the bullets that hit him was
explosive and caused a fracture of the bone of the right leg.

3. Ayman Yousef Hassan Odeh, 34, who was wounded
by a bullet in the pelvis. His wounds were described to be serious.

4. Umar Ayman Tayseer Farah, 18, who was wounded
by a bullet in the right hand.

5. Khalil Ahmed Mahmoud Wadi, 43, who was wounded
by a bullet in the right arm.

6. Anan Abdul Rahim Hassan, 19, who was wounded by
a gas grenade that hit his back.

7. Yahya Azmi Masameer, 15, who was wounded by a
bullet in the abdomen.

PCHR renews its strong condemnation of this
attack, which was launched jointly by the Israeli settlers and Israeli soliders
in the occupying forces against Palestinian civilians in Qusra village. The
Centre warns of settlers’ increasing attacks and:

1. Calls upon the international community to
intervene and exert pressure on the government of Israel to fulfill its
obligations set forth in international law, end all forms of settlement
activities in the OPT, and return settlers to Israel.

2. Reminds the international community that
settlement on occupied territory constitutes a war crime and that the High
Contracting Parties to the Fourth Geneva Convention must assume, individually
or collectively, their legal and moral responsibilities, fulfill their
obligations, ensure Israel’s respect of the Convention and ensure the
application of the Convention in the OPT in accordance with Article 1 of the
Convention.