DCI/PS

	2011/03/28 Israeli settler sentenced to prison for attacking a Palestinian boy On Sunday 27 March 2011, Zvi Struk, an Israeli settler from the West Bank settlement of Shilo, was sentenced to one and a half years in prison for the 2007 kidnapping and assault of Amran F. (15). The attack happened on Qusra village land, northeast of Shilo settlement, in the Nablus governorate. In addition to 18 months in prison, Struk was sentenced to pay 50,000 NIS in compensation to Amran. On 24 July 2007, at around 2:45 pm, Amran and two friends brought their sheep to graze on village land, known as Baslitta or Al Wa'ar, 1 km south of their village, Qusra. Not long after they arrived, two settlers appeared, shooting at the boys. Amran’s friends managed to run away, but Amran was caught and beaten by the settlers. He was then blindfolded, his hands bound behind his back, and brought to another location, where he was wrapped in electric cord, beaten further and doused with a liquid that smelled of petrol. He was then transported to a third location, where the settlers took off his clothes, giving him a final beating, which left him unconscious. When he came round he was alone, ‘in the middle of nowhere in the forest, somewhere on a hill,’ still blindfolded, with his hands still tied behind his back. Dragging himself to the main road, he managed to flag down a car which took him to hospital, where he stayed for five days.  Read the full report: The Assault and Kidnapping of Amran Farah DCI-Palestine welcomes the sentencing, noting, however, that there remains a pervasive culture of impunity for similar cases. According to Yesh Din, the prosecution and sentencing of Israeli citizens for crimes committed against Palestinians is rare: ‘About 90 percent of complaints filed by Palestinians against Israeli citizens, who harm them and their property end without any indictments.’ Such impunity facilitates further attacks: ‘The State’s ongoing failure to instate criminal accountability of violent settlers inadvertently empowers them and supports the continuation of their strategic brand of violence.’ This is the case of Qusra, Amran’s village, which regularly suffers settler attacks. According to the UN, in the first four weeks of January 2011 alone, Qusra and the neighbouring village of Jal’ud suffered four settler attacks. Since then, DCI-Palestine has documented cases of children injured during settler attacks in January, February, and more recently on 7 March 2011. DCI-Palestine calls on Israel to fully investigate all incidents of settler violence against Palestinians, and bring the perpetrators to justice, in accordance with their legal obligations under international law.

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