Photographed & Edit by Bilal Tamimi

Residents of Nabi Saleh marched on Friday to reclaim ‘Ayn al-Qaws, a spring which was confiscated by the settlers a few years ago. Since the expropriation, the military rarely allowed Palestinians to enter the spring and its environs, especially on Fridays. Villagers marched to the spring, accompanied by solidarity activists, and catching the settlers off guard. Then, scores of settlers from nearby Halamish (built on lands confiscated from Nabi Saleh), many of them armed, descended on the spring and attacked the marchers. I was pushed off a mound onto the ground, a fall of about 1.5m, resulting in bruises and extensive damage to my equipment.

Even before that, settlers approached the soldiers and demanded they use excessive force to remove the Palestinians off the premises.

When I approached an officer and asked for the information of the settler who assaulted me, the officer only chuckled, dismissed my claims and demanded I leave the area.

Right: the settler who attacked me

Left: the settler who attacked me