Israeli settler attacks continue across the occupied West Bank, with incidents of violence reported in the cities of Nablus, Ramallah, Bethlehem, Hebron, and their surrounding villages. The recent weeks have seen a sharp escalation in such assaults, prompting strong condemnation from the Palestinian Presidency, which held the Israeli government fully responsible. Meanwhile, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu claimed to have held a security meeting to address settler violence.
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The Palestinian Presidency urged the international community to pressure the Israeli government to put an end to the repeated attacks on Palestinian towns and villages.
It said: “The terrorist assaults carried out by settlers on Friday in West Bank cities and villages, including attacks on civilians and property, are part of the ongoing escalation of terrorist acts against the Palestinian people.”
The Presidency warned of the grave consequences of these attacks, holding the Israeli government fully accountable for their impact, and stressing the need to oblige Israel to halt such aggression, according to the Palestinian News Agency (WAFA).
It also called on the U.S. administration to pressure the “extremist right-wing Israeli government to stop shielding settler terrorism, force them to comply with international law, and halt their terrorist attacks on Palestinian towns, villages, and refugee camps.”
“Around 150 cars burned or damaged”
CNN reported that Israeli settlers set fire to a scrapyard in the town of Huwara in the West Bank, while Netanyahu was reportedly holding a security meeting on the rise in settler attacks.
Mohammed Dallal, the owner of the yard, said more than “10 settlers stormed the site, smashed vehicles, and set fires.” He added that no one was present during the attack, and estimated that around 150 vehicles were burned or damaged.
According to CNN, the attack occurred on the same night Netanyahu said he held a security meeting on settler violence, though it is unclear whether the meeting produced any decisions.
Israeli forces acknowledged that vehicles were torched in the Palestinian town, located near the extremist settler community of Yitzhar. The attack was the second within days, following another incident in which settlers set fire to Palestinian homes and cars south of Bethlehem.
Escalation of settler violence
Last week, settlers carried out a large-scale attack on agricultural lands in the northern West Bank, torching trucks, metal sheds, and other property.
Huwara has faced similar attacks before; in June 2023, settlers stormed the town, killing one Palestinian and injuring hundreds.
In Nablus, Israeli forces and settlers bulldozed dozens of dunums of land in the village of Iraq Burin on Friday.
The Palestinian Ministry of Health said that the Civil Affairs Commission informed it on Friday that Israeli forces had killed a young man and were holding his body in the town of Tell, west of Nablus.
Last year, then defense minister Yoav Gallant announced that Israel would not use administrative detention against settlers, removing a key tool previously available to security services to hold them, even as Israel continues to apply the measure widely against Palestinians.
Agencies
