Jewish settlers taped attacking elderly Palestinian shepherds

BBC News

Footage obtained by the BBC shows four masked Jewish settlers assaulting an elderly Palestinian goat herder and his wife with baseball bats last week. Thamam al-Nawaja, a 58 year-old shepherd, had her arm and cheekbone broken and spent three days in a hospital. The attack was caught on a camera distributed to Palestinians as part of an Israeli human rights group’s campaign to allow Palestinians — many of whom are being pushed off their land by Jewish settlers — to have video and photographic evidence of such assaults.

Just 10 days ago, U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon condemned expanding Israeli settlements in East Jerusalem as a violation of international law. Israel has defended its settlements, arguing that they are not violating any laws or preexisting agreements. But with this disturbing video, the pressure on Israel to change its settlement policies will only increase.

The incident comes as many are wondering if a two-state solution is even possible anymore. Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, frustrated by a lack of progress in negotiating with the Israelis, seems to be hedging his bets and has begun discussions with Hamas, a big no-no for Israel and the United States.

On top of this, Bush’s time is rapidly running out. We can only hope that the next president will follow the advice of Arab moderates and address the Israeli-Palestinian conflict in his first term.