Holy Land: Rabbis intervene to protect Palestinian from settler attack

Members of Rabbis for Human Rights intervened to protect a Palestinian who was being threatened by a settler. In their latest blog today, RHR report: 'An Israeli resident of the South Hebron Hills was filmed by a Ta'ayush activist as he attempted to attack an elderly Palestinian shepherd, threatened to butcher his children at night, and called to hang human rights activists.

'During the conversation, the young settler acknowledged the Palestinian's deed to the land dating back to the Ottoman Empire. However, he outright rejected the historic authority of the Ottoman Empire to regulate land ownership in the Land of Israel. As such, the settler exposed his worldview that does not acknowledge the private land ownership rights of Palestinians originating from deeds under the Ottoman Empire. This view stands in contradiction to the official standpoint of the State of Israel regarding the property rights of Palestinians, but is aligned with the de facto policy of the state which avoids dealing with land take-overs and often times aids them.

The Palestinian farmers in the area of the Hushiya family are represented by Rabbis for Human Rights in various legal matters. In regards to these lands, the court ruled that the settlers have not proven the purchase of land as they have claimed, while conversely, the Palestinians have shown documents proving their ownership.

Since the army has been unable to determine when exactly the settlers encroached on the private property, the court has refrained from ordering the army to issue a military order to have settlers removed from the land.

Following the legal intervention of Rabbis for Human Rights, a court order was issued to remove a vineyard planted by settler Moshe Deutsch located on another nearby plot belonging to the Hushiya family. In this instance, the vineyard -- used to encroach on the Palestinian land -- was removed by the army and the Palestinian family was able to return to work their plot.'

http://rhr.org.il/eng/2016/03/watch-violent-settler-attempts-to-attack-palestinians-threatens-their-children-calls-for-hanging-of-human-rights-workers/