Israeli forces, settlers committed nearly 1,400 attacks in the West Bank in November

Ahram Online , Wednesday 4 Dec 2024

Israeli forces and settlers committed 1,396 attacks against Palestinians in the occupied West Bank, their land and properties in November, according to the Head of the Colonization and Wall Resistance Commission, Minister Mo'ayyad Sha'ban.

settlers
File Photo: Settlers, under army protection, go on a rampage in the village of Hawara near Nablus district. AFP

 

The monthly report published Tuesday said the Israeli military committed 1,086 violations during November, whereas the Israeli settlers carried out 310 attacks. It said that 273 attacks took place in Ramallah, 253 in Hebron and 204 in Nablus.

The violations included armed attacks on Palestinian villages, land confiscation, field executions, property destruction, uprooting of trees, closures and the erection of checkpoints that fragmented Palestinian territories, according to WAFA.

Rise in settlers' attacks
 

The report documented 310 attacks carried out by settlers, including 77 in Ramallah, 73 in Hebron, 63 in Nablus and 34 in Salfit.

Among these attacks were attempts to establish eight new settlements outposts, primarily in Hebron, Bethlehem, Ramallah, Nablus and Jericho, many designated colonial pastures.

Sha'ban noted a marked escalation in violence during the ongoing olive harvest season, which began in October. He accused Israel of deploying armed colonial militias, mainly settlers, to disrupt the harvesting season.

In total, settlers damaged, uprooted, poisoned, or burned 1,806 trees, including 1,762 olive trees, in 42 separate attacks. Most of these attacks were concentrated in Nablus and Ramallah, followed by Hebron and Bethlehem.

Land seizures and demolitions
 

The Israeli authorities confiscated 177 dunams of Palestinian land in Salfit and Nablus through two military orders. The first order targeted 166 dunums of land in Salfit for takeover, while the second order declared ten dunams of land in the village of Burin, Nablus, as "state land."

The report also documented 52 demolition operations, affecting 63 structures, including 27 inhabited homes, two uninhabited homes and 17 agricultural structures. These demolitions were primarily concentrated in Jerusalem, Hebron and Nablus. Additionally, 23 demolition notices were issued, with the majority in Qalqilya and Nablus.

Plans for settlement expansion
 

In November, Israeli authorities advanced five colonial expansion plans. These proposals aim to construct 311 colonial units across 69 dunams in the West Bank and 800 units on 12 dunams in occupied Jerusalem.

The Palestinian Ministry of Foreign Affairs warned that the Israeli government’s decision to cancel the administration detention of a violent settler would encourage others to commit more attacks against Palestinians and their property in the occupied West Bank.

The ministry also said that the sanctions imposed by a number of countries on some extremist settlers are insufficient and do not deter them from carrying out violent attacks. It called for imposing greater sanctions on the entire settler infrastructure and noted that Palestinian officials are reporting the attacks to the relevant international institutions.

On Wednesday, Israeli terrorist settlers wounded a Palestinian and set fire to buildings while raiding two villages in the occupied West Bank following the eviction of a nearby settlement outpost by Israeli forces, according to Palestinian and Israeli sources.

Nahi Hanani, deputy head of the Beit Furik council, told AFP that dozens of settlers attacked the village "setting fire to a truck in front of one house and another vehicle." "They also set fire to a grocery shop in the village and another house was slightly damaged," he said.

The Israeli occupation army reported that settlers entered the village of Beit Furik, east of Nablus, where they "set property on fire and hurled stones." Local authorities told AFP that the attacks occurred early in the morning.

The army said the Israelis also "set property on fire and threw stones" in Huwara, a town to the south of Nablus.

Rana Abu Hania, spokeswoman for Huwara's town hall, confirmed to AFP that one resident was injured when terrorist settlers attacked the town early today. "They burned two cars and the house of one citizen... The army also demolished a used car lot," said Abu Hania.  

The Israeli army explained that the settlers' attacks were in retaliation to Israeli forces' operation against "illegal construction by Israeli civilians" near Beit Furik on Tuesday night, which led to clashes in which two policemen were injured by stones.

Yusef Awadi, a resident of Huwara, said settlers burned his brother's house. "They set fire to the Jeep and the car outside… They entered the house, set it on fire, and then left," he told AFP, adding that his brother, Tayseer, was hospitalized after being hit on the head. "Had his family not been awake, they would have all burned with the house," he said.

In a joint statement, the Israeli army and police confirmed the arrest of eight suspects in connection with the Beit Furik and Huwara attacks, "for assaulting security forces, engaging in friction, and causing damage to property." 

 

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