Clashes between settlers, Palestinians (archives)
צילום: הרב אריק אשרמן
Settler injured, Palestinian arrested in land dispute
Shilo residents say left-wing activists violating status quo in area, while Palestinians claim farmers being harassed by settlers
A resident of the West Bank settlement of Shilo was lightly to moderately injured Wednesday morning in a clash with Palestinians and left-wing activists following a dispute over agricultural lands in the area.
One person was arrested on suspicion of assault, and activists of the B'Tselem human rights organization say soldiers confiscated one of their cameras.
The clash erupted as Palestinians arrived to work their lands, which the settlers say belong to them, near Tel Shilo. The settlers claimed the Palestinians uprooted their plants, while the Palestinians said that the settlers stopped them from plowing the land with a tractor.
During the clash, one o the Palestinians attacked a 60-year-old settler, who fell down and hit his head. He was evacuated to the Shaare Zedek Medical Center in Jerusalem.
Army and police forces dispatched to the area declared it a "closed military zone." They arrested the man suspected of assault and he was taken in for questioning by the police. A camera was confiscated from a B'Tselem activist documenting the incident.
Residents of the Binyamin Regional Council say the land has been subject to a dispute for many years, but that the sides have so far managed to maintain a "status quo."
The council's security officer, Avigdor Shatz, told Ynet that "farmers from Shilo have been working this piece of land for 25 years. There has been a legal dispute over this land for a long time, but the status quo has been maintained. Those violating it are left-wing activists who come here with tractors in order to work the land."
Violent incidents
Shatz says that the past two years have seen an escalation in the situation, as left-wing activists and Palestinians claim they are the sole owners of the land.
"Last year, a Palestinian came here, presented documents and claimed that the land belonged to him, but a Civil Administration inquiry and legal advices revealed that this was not true," he said.
Human rights organizations and residents claim, on the other hand, that the settlers have been forging their ownership of the land. Rabbi Arik Ascherman of the Rabbis for Human Rights organization told Ynet, "In the past year there has been a wave of interference with false claims. The settler claims the land belongs to him, but he has no documents while the Palestinians have documents."
Mufid Jamil, head of the Krayot village council, said that "the settlers' harassment continues every time the farmers go out to work the lands. We filed out last complaint in April, but nothing has happened."
Calm was restored in the area following the clashes, but residents say it's only a matter of time before their resume.
Ali Waked contributed to this report
