In West Bank, Latest Victim of Israeli Settler Violence Shocks in a New Way

A video of a Palestinian family’s dog being savagely beaten has spread widely in the days after the attack. Listen · 7:59 min Share full articleA dog being beaten by a settler in the West Bank village of Atara in May.Credit...Abu Rejalah familyBy David M. Halbfinger Cruelty has become commonplace in the West Bank, where extremist Israeli settlers beat and shoot Palestinians, steal their sheep, uproot their olive groves and torch cars and homes. The settlers, outlaws in a multitude of ways, seldom face consequences for their actions. But even for Palestinians living under the constant threat of being attacked, some violence retains the capacity to shock. That was the case when a video went viral that showed a settler menacing a year-and-a-half-old dog with a club in each fist — and swinging hard, beating her over the head. In the video, the dog, a Belgian Malinois named Lucy, squeals in pain and tries to scramble away. But she had been chained to an olive tree to keep her in the shade on a hot afternoon. What follows, recorded by the dog’s owners, a Palestinian family in the village of Atara, is extremely difficult to watch, and to describe. Until recently, the violence in Atara had followed a more typical playbook, aimed at driving Palestinians to flee for safety — abandoning their homes, pastures and farmlands to the encroaching settlers, so that Arab spaces shrink and Jewish spaces expand.

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Original Source: NYTimes