Palestinians Injured, Cars Vandalized in Settlers’ Attack near Nablus

By Staff, Agencies

“Israeli” settlers have attacked a group of Palestinian farmers in the occupied West Bank, leaving at least three people injured, as they press ahead with their acts of vandalism and violence against Palestinians and their property.

Ghassan Daghlas, a Palestinian official who monitors “Israeli” settlement activities in the northern West Bank, said “Israeli” settlers hurled stones at Palestinian farmers who were planting trees on their land during an agricultural event near the village of Burqa, about 18 kilometers northwest of Nablus on Monday, Palestine’s official Wafa news agency reported.  

At least three people suffered injuries in the brutal assault, Daghlas said, adding that one of the farmers was hit in the face with a stone, and another was injured after being struck in the head, while the third sustained bruises.

The local activist further said the settlers also threw stones at passing Palestinian vehicles on the road between the occupied West Bank cities of Jenin and Nablus, causing severe damage to at least four cars. No injuries were reported.

Meanwhile, the Palestinian Information Center, citing local sources, reported that the settlers who attacked the agricultural event organized by local villagers in Burqa, were armed and fired shots at some participants.

Meanwhile, “Israeli” rights group, B’Tselem, said the settlers’ vandalism in the West Bank is done with full backing of the “Israeli” authorities, adding that the Tel Aviv regime benefits from the repercussions, as settler violence has gradually deprived Palestinians of more and more areas in the occupied territories.

"Settler violence and vandalism take place with full backing of the ‘Israeli’ authorities. Sometimes soldiers take part in the assault; at other times, they stand idly by. The police make no substantial effort to investigate the incidents, nor take measures to prevent them or stop them in real time," it said.

Incidents of sabotage and settler violence by extremist “Israelis” against Palestinians and their property have become a daily occurrence throughout the occupied territories, particularly in the West Bank.

However, “Israeli” authorities rarely prosecute “Israeli” settlers and the vast majority of the files are closed due to deliberate police failure to investigate properly.

Settler violence includes property and mosque arson attacks, stone-throwing, uprooting of crops and olive trees, attacks on vulnerable homes, among others.

The United Nations has already warned of a surge in “Israeli” settler violence against Palestinians, mostly in the areas of al-Khalil, al-Quds, Nablus and Ramallah. Later on Monday, a Palestinian youth was shot and injured with live rounds of ammunition during clashes in the city of Nablus.

Ahmad Jibril, director of the Palestinian Red Crescent [PRC]'s Emergency Department in Nablus, told Wafa new agency that clashes broke out after “Israeli” military forces raided the city and a Palestinian youth was shot and wounded in the knee and was rushed to a hospital for medical treatment.

Dozens of others suffered from suffocation after inhaling tear gas fired by “Israeli” forces and were treated at the scene.