3 Palestinians injured as illegal Israeli settlers attack West Bank village

By Awad al-Rujoub

RAMALLAH, Palestine (AA) - Three Palestinians sustained injuries as dozens of illegal Israeli settlers attacked a Palestinian village in the central occupied West Bank on Saturday.

Speaking to Anadolu, Lafi Shalabi, mayor of Turmus Ayya village, east of Ramallah city, said that 30 to 40 armed settlers attacked the village, set fire to two cars, and beat up three Palestinians.

He said the villagers confronted the settlers before the Israeli army's intervention.

The Palestinian Colonization and Wall Resistance Commission said in early January that settlers in 2024 committed 2,971 violations across the occupied West Bank against Palestinians and their properties leaving 10 Palestinians dead and more than 14,000 olive trees damaged.

According to data from the Israeli anti-settlement group, Peace Now, there are more than half a million illegal settlers in 146 settlements and 224 outposts in the West Bank.

In recent years, the Israeli military has conducted regular raids in the West Bank, which have escalated with the beginning of the onslaught on the Gaza Strip on Oct. 7, 2023.

At least 847 Palestinians have since been killed and nearly 6,700 injured by Israeli army fire in the occupied territory, according to the Health Ministry.

In July 2024, the International Court of Justice declared Israel's decades-long occupation of Palestinian land illegal and demanded the evacuation of all existing settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem.

*Writing by Ahmed Asmar in Ankara