The settler attack, which took place in October near the village of Turmus Ayya where the woman was harvesting olives, was filmed by a foreign volunteer and the video was widely shared on social media.
The 24-year-old suspect "hit the woman, a local resident who was at the scene to participate in the harvesting, on the head and body with a wooden mallet and continued to hit her even when she fell to the ground, causing extensive injuries," the indictment states.
These types of prosecutions against Israeli settlers are rare, although Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, in an unusual move, recently condemned what he described as acts of violence by “a handful of extremists.”
Over 500,000 Israelis live in settlements in the occupied West Bank, which are illegal under international law. Settler violence against Palestinians has escalated during the Gaza war and in connection with the recent expansion of settlements promoted by the Israeli government.
According to the UN, 264 attacks took place in October – the highest number since records began in 2006.
On Thursday, France, Germany, Italy and the United Kingdom condemned in a joint statement "the significant increase in settler violence against Palestinian civilians."
"These attacks must stop," they write, adding that the violence endangers the peace process in Gaza and the prospects for long-term peace.
