Palestinian medical sources said that 25-year-old farmer Mahmoud Ibrahim Zain was moderately injured after being stabbed in the chest several times, in what is suspected to be a “price tag” attack. The sources said that Zain, a resident of nearby Khirbet Tuba village, was taken to the Alia hospital in Hebron for treatment.
“Price-tag” is the slogan used by occupiers either to retaliate against Israeli government decisions which curb settlement activity or in response to Palestinian attacks.
Palestinian security sources said that the Palestinian farmer was on his way from Khirbet Tuba to Al-Litwani area to distribute milk when the occupier attacked him.
For its part, the Israeli police said that the attack was nationalistically-motivated. It added that large military and police forces were present at the scene investigating the circumstances of the incident.
Attacks by occupiers against Palestinian residents of the West Bank have increased since the killing of Jewish family by unknown assailants in the settlement of Itamar near Nablus city on March 12.
On Thursday, occupiers put two vehicles on fire between the settlement of Kedumim and the Palestinian village of Kafr Qaddoum, according to Palestinian eyewitnesses. Palestinian fire services arrived and put out the blaze.
Earlier on Thursday, eight occupiers wearing facemasks attacked two Palestinian construction workers in the settlement of Shiloh. Sami Sonouber said he was beaten with a brick and an iron rod. The suspects then fled the area in a vehicle.
Israeli police said then that the attack was a “price tag” act carried out to avenge the attack in Itamar.
In the West Bank, there are more than 500,000 Jewish occupiers who live with 2.5 million Palestinians. Tension has been always high between the two sides that usually turn into violence.
Disputes over settlement construction in the West Bank and East Jerusalem were the major reason for suspending the direct peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians since September 2010.
