AL-KHALIL, (PIC)
An Israeli armed settler has threatened a group of Palestinian children while they were playing football in the community of Khirbet Umm al-Kheir in Masafer Yatta, south of the occupied West Bank, in what officials describe as part of a broader pattern of intimidation and displacement.
The Palestinian Football Association said in a statement that the settler entered the football field carrying a weapon and threatened the children, calling the incident part of “ongoing targeting of residents and their children aimed at forcing them off their land.”
The Association noted that Israeli authorities had previously issued a demolition order for the field in February, putting the facility, considered the only recreational outlet for children in the area, at risk of destruction.
A video released by the Association shows the armed settler inside the field as children look on, underscoring what it described as escalating pressure on the community following a campaign led by settlers and the Israeli organization Regavim against the playground.
According to the statement, settlers view the field as an obstacle to settlement expansion, warning that its demolition would deprive children of a vital space for sports and daily life.
The Association added that the incident reflects a wider targeting of Palestinian sports infrastructure, noting that at least 265 sports facilities have been destroyed across Gaza and the West Bank in recent months.
