Israeli settlers violently attack Palestinian bus driver near Hebron

Salah Abu Jamal, from East Jerusalem, was working for the Israeli bus company Egged when he was attacked by the group near the Kiryat Arba settlement. The settlers inflicted serious injuries on Abu Jamal who had to be taken to hospital for treatment.

The 26-year-old told Israel's Channel 10 news that the group boarded his bus and immediately started to pester him, shouting and cursing at him as well as shining a torch into his rear view mirror in an attempt to blind him.

Abu Jamal reported that as he attempted to evacuate the bus, one of the group blocked him and struck him in the head with a sharp instrument.

Israeli police say their investigation of the incident is ongoing.

Settler attacks on Palestinians have become commonplace in the West Bank, with settlers often throwing stones, vandalising property and destroying olive trees belonging to local Palestinians. There have been numerous cases of settlers murdering Palestinian locals.

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Settlers from Hebron are known to be especially prone to violence, yet act with almost total impunity while under the protection of Israeli forces.

Earlier this month a group of settlers stormed the Palestinian village of Madma, near Nablus, and attempted to kidnap two children.

Israeli settlements, thought to be home to some 600,000 settlers across the West Bank, are seen as illegal under international law and major obstacles to peace, as they are built on occupied Palestinian territory.

Israeli authorities have advanced plans for thousands of new settlement homes in recent months.