JERUSALEM: Israeli forces assaulted a number of foreign solidarity activists on Saturday at the Bedouin community of Khallet Al-Sedra near the village of Mekhmas, northeast of occupied Jerusalem, and forcibly expelled them from the site.
The Jerusalem governorate said the forces made the international activists at Khallet Al-Sedra evacuate the community under coercion.
It added that more than 20 Israeli settlers gathered near Khallet Al-Sedra at the same time as the evacuation of the activists, raising fears among residents of a repeat of the recent attack on the community.
BACKGROUND
Israeli settlers severely beat three residents on the outskirts of the town of Beit Furik, east of Nablus, on Saturday, including a 70-year-old elderly man.
Several residents and foreign activists were injured a few days ago, and several homes and two vehicles were burned in a colonist attack on the Bedouin community.
Also on Saturday, three Palestinians were injured in a violent attack carried out by Israeli settler militias near the town of Beit Furik, east of Nablus.
The sources reported that settlers severely beat three residents on the outskirts of the town, including a 70-year-old elderly man.
The injured were taken to the Friendship Medical Center in the town for treatment.
Palestinian residents rushed to confront the attack, prompting Israeli forces to intervene and fire stun bombs and tear gas canisters.
Settlers also attacked Palestinian residents in the town of Qusra, south of Nablus, on Saturday.
Qusra Mayor Hani Odeh said that colonists assaulted residents in the western area of the town under the protection of the Israeli army, leading to violent confrontations that included heavy gunfire.
He said that settlers set up tents three days earlier in the western area of the town, despite the land being located in Area A, under full Palestinian control, warning of the danger this poses to the town.
The National Office for the Defense of Land and Resistance to Settlements pointed out that the Israeli government had begun the new year with numerous settlement expansion projects across the West Bank.
In its weekly report, covering the period from Jan. 17 to Jan. 23, the office added that 2026 is an election year in Israel.
In this scenario, Israeli parties in general, and the Kahanist right-wing parties in particular, tend to escalate extremist rhetoric and policies.
According to the report, the Israeli settlement expansion is focused mainly on Jerusalem, the northern West Bank and the Palestinian Jordan Valley areas.
