LEILA FADEL, HOST:
It was a weekend of violence in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, with multiple assaults on Palestinians reported, and one on a U.S. news crew. The attacks by Israeli settlers drew rare condemnation from both Israeli and U.S. officials, but no arrests were made. NPR's Carrie Kahn reports.
CARRIE KAHN, BYLINE: Luay Beyrouti (ph) wants to show off his home in the Palestinian town of Qusra. He drives us up a windy hillside road. He's building it for his wife and three children. Well, at least he's trying to build it.
LUAY BEYROUTI: (Non-English language spoken).
KAHN: "This is my house," he says, pointing at a concrete shell, as we stop about 200 feet short of it. The view of the valley below is amazing.
BEYROUTI: (Non-English language spoken).
KAHN: "It's close to other homes, but whenever I try to reach my house, the settlers come down," he says. That's what happened Saturday. He was with seven others installing windows. Masked men poured down the hillside, throwing rocks. Beyrouti says he called the Israeli military, but instead of helping them, soldiers fired tear gas into the home.
BEYROUTI: (Non-English language spoken).
KAHN: Soldiers ordered them into a room, he says. They were blindfolded and handcuffed and eventually led into a military vehicle, still cuffed and blindfolded, then dropped 2 miles away.
BEYROUTI: (Non-English language spoken).
KAHN: "Who is that?" Beyrouti stops mid-story. He spots two large white vehicles race across a hilltop road, kicking up dust. Settlers have spotted us.
Yeah, why don't we - we should leave. Let's go.
BEYROUTI: (Non-English language spoken).
KAHN: Thank you.
(SOUNDBITE OF ENGINE STARTING)
KAHN: Also on Saturday, masked settlers attacked an NBC TV crew in a nearby village. The Palestinian woman they were interviewing was hospitalized. The U.S. ambassador to Israel called the settlers terrorists. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu promised arrests and a thorough investigation. But by Sunday, he was downplaying the assaults as an act of a handful of troubled youth. Israel's military says it resolved the conflict swiftly and confiscated three vehicles. Qusra's former mayor, Hani Odeh, says the settlers must be stopped.
HANI ODEH: (Non-English language spoken).
KAHN: "They are not strong, and it's wrong to say they are. They have the backing of the Israeli army," he says. "And without punishment, they are emboldened."
Carrie Kahn, NPR News, Qusra in the Israeli-occupied West Bank.
(SOUNDBITE OF LYNN AVERY & COLE PULICE'S "SOUND IMAGE") Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
NPR transcripts are created on a rush deadline by an NPR contractor. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. Accuracy and availability may vary. The authoritative record of NPR’s programming is the audio record.
