Violent clashes erupt in West Bank as Israeli settlers torch homes and vehicles

Dozens of Israeli settlers have carried out raids in various areas of the West Bank, resulting in property damage and injuries. On Friday, a man and his child were taken to hospital after being attacked with sharp instruments in the village of Khirbet Shuweika, south of Hebron. The father and child suffered head injuries.

In another incident, Israeli settlers torched a home in al-Lubban Asharqiya, south of Nablus, prompting Palestinian Civil Defence members to respond and extinguish the blaze. In Abu Falah, northeast of Ramallah, security sources reported that settlers stormed the outskirts of the village, burned a vehicle, and wrote racist slogans on house walls.

In Jenin, Israeli forces forced residents to exhume a newly buried body and relocate it due to concerns over an illegal settlement site. Settlers also attacked a Palestinian man in Beit Fajjar, south of Bethlehem, stole his mobile phone, and clashed with residents in Silwad, northeast of Ramallah.

On Friday, Israeli forces arrested four Palestinian men in Battir, west of Bethlehem, while they were hiking near a railway line. The following day, three more Palestinians were arrested during a raid on Nablus. In Tuqu, southeast of Bethlehem, Israeli forces fired tear gas and sound bombs at worshippers leaving a mosque, locking some inside.

Human rights groups have expressed concerns over the actions of Israeli settlers in the West Bank, citing alleged impunity from authorities. The Israeli government has approved plans to claim large areas of the occupied territory as “state property”. Over 700,000 Israelis live in settlements deemed illegal by international law.

Source: Al Jazeera