Israeli settlers have attacked towns in the occupied West Bank, vandalising Palestinian property and clashing with Israeli soldiers.
The overnight attacks targeting Beit Furik and Huwara, both located near the city of Nablus, mark the latest escalation of violence against Palestinians as Israeli settlers race to establish new farming outposts in the West Bank as war rages in Gaza.
Settlers attacked Beit Furik, located 9km (5.6 miles) southeast of Nablus, setting fire to a house under construction, a grocery store and a vehicle, the Palestinian news agency Wafa reported on Wednesday.
The Israeli military said the attack started after troops arrived to dismantle an unauthorised farming outpost built nearby. Settlers responded by hurling stones, wounding two members of the paramilitary Border Police.
Another group of settlers attacked the village of Huwara, 8km (5 miles) south of Nablus, setting fire to a house under construction and two vehicles, according to Wafa. They clashed with Israeli soldiers close to the nearby Palestinian village of Rujeib.
The Palestinian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates posted a statement on X condemning what it called “terrorist settler militias” and saying settlers had been emboldened by the “glaring and unjustifiable failure” of the global community to stop the spiralling Israeli violence.
This morning, Wednesday, terrorist #settler militias carried out brutal attacks on the towns of Beit Furik and Huwwara near Nablus. In Beit Furik, they set fire to an under-construction house, a grocery store, and a vehicle. Similarly, in Huwwara, they torched another… pic.twitter.com/lbio8Rvw4e
— State of Palestine – MFA 🇵🇸🇵🇸 (@pmofa) December 4, 2024
Israeli police and the Shin Bet security agency said in a statement that they were investigating the attacks. They said they arrested eight Israelis for suspected property damage and assaulting security forces.
The United Nations humanitarian office said at the end of last month that settler attacks on Palestinian farmers during the recent olive harvest had “at least tripled” in 2024 compared with the past three years.
Throughout the year, Israeli settlers have seized 23.7sq km (9.15sq miles) of Palestinian land, making 2024 the peak year for Israeli land seizures, according to Peace Now, a nonprofit organisation that monitors illegal land confiscation in the occupied territory.
Meanwhile, Israeli security forces conducted overnight raids across the West Bank, arresting at least 22 Palestinians, according to the Commission of Detainees and Ex-Detainees Affairs and the Palestinian Prisoner’s Society.
Most of the arrests, which included two children, a woman and former prisoner, took place in the governorates of Qalqilya and Tubas with the rest happening in Bethlehem, Ramallah, Hebron and Nablus, the groups said.
Israeli raids have picked up pace across all governorates in the West Bank, and during these raids, Israeli soldiers use civilians’ homes as temporary military barracks, according to Wafa.
