Palestinian father, son hospitalised following Israeli settlers attack in West Bank

Two Palestinians near the occupied city of Nablus were hospitalised after being attacked by Israeli settlers on Saturday afternoon.

According to Israeli organisation Yesh Din, the Palestinians, a father and son, were attacked when they were working on agricultural land in the occupied village of as-Sawiya. 

Settlers from the Rehelim settlement saw the two working and charged at them with rocks and an iron rod, the NGO said.

The father is said to be in his 60s and the son in his 20s, Ghassan Daghlas, a Palestinian Authority official who monitors settlement activity in the West Bank, told Israeli daily Haaretz.

Read more: WATCH: Palestinian child blindfolded, beaten by Israeli soldiers in Hebron

"While the world is busy worrying about Trump's declarations and the administration's reactions," Daghlas said. 

"The situation on the ground is deteriorating, and the aggression and antagonism of the settlers are only getting stronger."

Half-a-century of 'illegal occupation'

Israel has occupied the West Bank illegally since 1967, and commits various abuses against Palestinian civilians, human rights groups say.

More than 600,000 Israeli Jews live in settlements in the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem, in constructions considered illegal under international law.

The Oslo agreement of 1995 divided the occupied West Bank into three: Area A, Area B and Area C.

Area A is under the administrative and security control of the Palestinian Authority (PA). Area B's administration is controlled by the Palestinian Authority, with Israel controlling security. Area C is under full administrative and security control of Israel.

Along with illegally confiscating Palestinian land, Israeli soldiers and settlers routinely harass Palestinians in the occupied territories in various ways.

Israeli forces and settlers routinely harass local residents in the occupied territories through harming and killing civilians, demolishing homes, poisoning livestock, vandalising property and other forms of violence.

Israel often forces Palestinians to demolish their own homes under the pretext of not having permits to construct the buildings.

Applications for building permits often take years to be processed, giving Israeli courts a loophole to increase Palestinian home demolitions by branding structures as "illegal".

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