RAMALLAH: Israeli settlers launched a series of attacks on Palestinian communities in the occupied West Bank on Friday, the Palestinian news agency WAFA reported.
The assaults targeted homes, a mosque and agricultural land and were frequently accompanied or protected by Israeli troops, local sources were cited as saying.
In Khalayel Al-Lawz, southeast of Bethlehem, settlers threw stones at people’s homes and surrounded the area. In some cases, trees were uprooted and farmers were prevented from accessing their land.
Israeli forces provided protection for the attackers and in some cases threw stun grenades and tear gas canisters into properties, the report said. The military also later sealed off the area. In a separate attack in Al-Jiftlik, north of Jericho in the eastern West Bank, several members of the Ka’abneh family were assaulted by settlers, the report said.
Hassan Salem and Mousa Odeh Ka’abneh were later detained by Israeli forces, Eid Barahmeh, director of the Palestinian Prisoners’ Society in Jericho, said.
Israeli authorities also issued demolition orders for several homes in the village, claiming their owners lacked the appropriate building permits.
In an incident in Deir Ballut, Salfit district, settlers stormed Al-Salam Mosque, damaging its contents, and caused disruption by blocking roads into the town.
The attack reflected a growing pattern of violence in the area, where settlers have increasingly been targeting religious sites, the report said.
In Turmus Ayya, north of Ramallah, Israeli forces bulldozed agricultural land near the home of the Abu Awwad family and uprooted dozens of ancient olive trees.
Witnesses said the attacks had been going on for three months and that about 4,000 olive trees had been pulled up and hundreds of acres of land plowed to make way for a new Israeli outpost west of the town.
Palestinian authorities, human rights groups and international observers, including the UN, have reported a sharp increase in violence against Palestinian communities by settlers, often supported by Israeli troops.
