Jewish settlers attack American Christian volunteers near Hebron

"Jewish settlers immigrants from North America on Wednesday attacked and severely beat American Christian peace volunteers near the village of Yatta south west of Hebron, Palestinian and Israeli sources said.

According to the Hebron-based Christian Peace Making Team (CPT), five settlers carrying iron chains and baseball clubs, assaulted two volunteers ( a woman and a man) who were escorting Palestinian school children to their school at the village of Tuba near the settlement of Maon in the southern Hebron hills.

The assailants reportedly beat the two volunteers and robbed them. The two were evacuated by an Israeli ambulance to a hospital in the southern Israeli town of Be'ir Sheva were they have been listed in moderate conditions.

The assailants reportedly also stole a bag belonging to a female volunteer named Kim Lamberty, 44. The bag contained passport, money and a cellular phone. It is not clear if the settlers had wanted to attack Palestinian school children who fled to their homes.

A CPT spokesperson in Hebron named Cal Carpenter told PIC that one volunteer named Chris had a collapsed lung while a woman volunteer had bruises and cuts.

Asked why he thought the settlers assaulted his friends, Carpenter said the settlers "didn't like what we were doing, namely escorting Palestinian kids to their schools."

"They apparently were unhappy to see us stand by the kids whom the settlers want to abuse….so they thought that we were frustrating their efforts." "