Settlers Attack Palestinian Property Across West Bank, IDF Accused of Protection

Settlers carried out a series of attacks across the West Bank and Jerusalem on Wednesday, targeting Palestinian homes, vehicles, and agricultural lands. Local sources reported that Israeli military forces provided protection to the settlers during these assaults. In the Nablus governorate, settlers set fire to two vehicles in the eastern area of Beita town, south of the city, before fleeing. They also spray-painted anti-Arab slogans on the walls of Palestinian homes located between Beita and Osrin. In the village of Jalud, also south of Nablus, settlers bulldozed Palestinian land to expand the "Jabal al-Nigma" outpost, a move seen as furthering settlement expansion and altering the ground reality.

Ghassan Dughlas, the governor of Nablus, warned of the escalating settler violence, stating it is not isolated but part of an organized policy by extremist groups supported by Israeli authorities. He identified settlement leaders, "Hilltop Youth," and settlement activists as spearheading these attacks, aiming to change the geographical and demographic landscape of the West Bank. Dughlas explained that the repeated attacks on Palestinian villages and towns are designed to create faits accomplis and force residents to leave by making their lives unbearable and targeting their livelihoods, aligning with "ideological substitutionist" agendas.

The attacks have expanded beyond property damage to include road closures, land seizures, village blockades, and obstruction of access to agricultural lands and income sources, creating harsh living and security conditions. In the southern West Bank, settlers released sheep to graze on Palestinian land in the Wad Sa'ir area, northeast of Hebron. Agricultural lands in Deir Ballut, west of Salfit, were also bulldozed by settlers. Concurrently, Israeli army bulldozers engaged in land leveling and destruction near Ya'bad town, southwest of Jenin.

In Jerusalem, clashes erupted after Israeli forces and settlers stormed the town of Hizme, northeast of the city, with heavy tear gas deployment directed at homes. These incidents follow a significant increase in settler attacks, with 628 recorded in the past month. Ramallah and al-Bireh reported the highest number of attacks with 157, followed by Nablus (137), Hebron (120), Bethlehem (73), Tubas (40), Jenin (36), and Jerusalem (31).