 In Itamar, blame for these killings was laid at the door of local Palestinian villagers, who according to Californian emigrant Alon Zimmerman, were believed to provide militants with local support.The whole village of Yanun, though never linked to any violence or attack, itself was so harassed by local Itamar hilltop settlers that its entire population was put to flight, and sought refuge in Awarta, and became, according to Joel Greenberg 'the first case in memory in which harassment by Jewish settlers has emptied an entire Palestinian community'.At the time of the uprising Itamar had a reputation among Israelis one of the hard core settlements.