Witnesses: Hebron settlers attack construction workers [ 77374 ]

Ma'an, May 3, 2011 HEBRON -- Dozens of Israeli settlers assaulted a group of Palestinian construction workers in Hebron's city center on Tuesday, residents said. Nayef Da'na told Ma'an that settlers attacked him and other workers as they restored a home near Ash-Shuhuda street, an area long closed down due to settler violence and military patrols. The owner of the home, Mufeed Ash-Sharabati, said the altercation began with insults being thrown by settlers at the workers, who responded in kind, and escalated into physical violence. Ash-Sharabati said Israeli forces intervened and ordered the builders to stop work. It was not the first time the workers repairing the home had been harassed, Da'na said, noting Israeli forces constantly bothered them in an attempt to prevent the home reclamation. Ash-Shuhada street in Hebron runs between two communities of ultra-Zionist settler groups, who have moved into areas of the Palestinian city, guarded by some 1,500 Israeli soldiers. The street has been shut down since the 1990s, and was once the center of commerce for city residents. Protests have been ongoing, and demand Israeli officials permit shops on the street to re-open.