Masked settlers attack Israeli rights activists in West Bank

Masked Israeli settlers attacked activists assisting Palestinians in the West Bank, injuring seven of them, Israeli human rights groups said.

The two groups, Ta'ayush and Haqal, said they were accompanying Palestinian shepherds, who often suffer from harassment and violence by Israeli settlers, when they came under the attack.

The incident took place in the area of Auja, a village in the Jordan Valley north of Jericho.

A video footage released by B'Tselem, another Israel-based human rights watchdog, shows over a dozen of masked settlers youths running towards the activists, shouting obscenities, hurling rocks, and swinging bats.

In the footage, one of the settlers is seen beating a rights activist Rabbi Arik Ascherman in his legs while another hitting him with a club at his back and a third youth throwing a rock towards his head.

Two military helicopters are then seen in the clip flying very close to the ground, dispersing the assailants.

Haqal said in a post on Facebook that the settlers arrived from the "Baladim" outpost, an illegal settlement.

It is known for its "hilltop youths," an Israeli phrase used to describe violent Jewish settlers who have been carrying out attacks against Palestinians over the past years. Endit