Palestinian amputee attacked with an iron bar: 'The settler wanted to hit my son'

Said al-Amour, a Palestinian disabled man from Masafer Yatta in the Hebron Hills area, was attacked on Saturday in the courtyard of his home with an iron bar by two young settlers who arrived riding an ATV. The incident was documented, and Said stated that one of the attackers first tried to hit his 7-year-old son. In the footage, the two are seen wearing kippahs with their faces exposed, when one of them holds an iron bar and strikes it on the back of Said, who had bent down to pick up one of his crutches.

Said is an amputee following another attack he experienced, when a settler shot him near his home. He explained that he tried to distance his son from the attackers, and then was attacked himself:

«I was sitting at home and heard noise. I saw two young men on my territory, on my land. They started throwing stones and tried to enter my house. One of them held an iron bar and wanted to hit the child. I shouted at him and he left the child and followed me. I am disabled, my right leg has been amputated for about a year and a half. He pushed me and I fell to the floor. And then he took an iron bar and hit me on the back and in the leg area.»

After the attack, the young men fled the scene and Red Crescent personnel evacuated him to the hospital. He noted that at first he did not turn to the police, because in his experience «the police delay and do not arrive,» but later an online complaint was filed and the two suspects were arrested.

Osama Mahamra, a Palestinian activist against the settlements in the southern Hebron Hills, said:

«This is another incident in a long chain of attacks in the area. The place where the young man with the bar was located is only about 800 meters from the point where al-Amour was attacked. There is no need for an investigation and no need to look for him. He is there all the time and can leave within a minute. Every day we see him attacking people.»