HEBRON, Monday, September 27, 2021 (Shehab) - Shepherds from the Palestinian village of Masafer Yatta in the south of the occupied West Bank were today forced to cut herding of their livestock short after they were chased out of the pastures by Israeli settlers, according to a local activist.

Fouad al-Imour, an activist in Massafer Yatta, said that settlers from the illegal settlement of Yacoub Talya, built on Massafer Yatta land, attacked the shepherds while they were herding their sheep in the area pastures, cursed them and then forced them to leave the pastures.

Laseifer is a small village separated from its environs by Israel’s apartheid barrier. Its residents have to go through a metal gate in the barrier controlled by the army in order to move from their village to other West Bank areas.

Their life is made difficult to force them to leave their land and pastures as they are required to get special army permits to go through the gate. Often residents, including students, are thoroughly searched and delayed when they have to cross the gate.