'Night guards' aim to deter settler attacks in West Bank

With attacks by Israeli settlers against Palestinian villages in the West Bank reaching 11,000 since 2004, the residents decided to form night guard committees to defend themselves.
A masked Palestinian villager keeps guard with other Palestinians as they tighten night guards against Jewish settler threats, at Qusra village near the West Bank city of Nablus August 10, 2015. Fears of attacks by far-right Jews have increased since a Palestinian man and his 18-month-old son were killed when their house in Duma village was set ablaze on July 31, giving Palestinian farmers-turned-volunteer watchmen patrolling their own villages a renewed sense of urgency. Picture taken August 10, 2015. REUT
A masked Palestinian villager keeps guard with other Palestinians as they tighten their watch against Jewish settler threats, at Qusra village near the West Bank city of Nablus, Aug. 10, 2015. - REUTERS/Abed Omar Qusini
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Ahmad Melhem
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RAMALLAH, West Bank — Alarm bells sound in Palestinian villages attacked by settlers after members of the Dawabsha family were burned alive in Douma, southeast of Nablus in the north of the West Bank July 31. The incident claimed the lives of Saad Dawabsha and his toddler son Ali.

This crime prompted Palestinians in some villages to form night guard committees to watch the villages and protect them against settler attacks, especially during the late night hours until dawn.

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