Illegal Israeli settlers assault Palestinian child, attempt vehicular attack in occupied West Bank

By Aysar Alais and Mohammad Sio

RAMALLAH, Palestine / ISTANBUL (AA) - Illegal Israeli settlers assaulted a Palestinian child in the West Bank on Sunday, and attempted a vehicular attack on several other children, in the latest wave of settler violence in the occupied territory, local media reported.

The official news agency Wafa said a child sustained bruises and was hospitalized after he was attacked by illegal settlers in Khirbet Ragoum in Masafer Yatta, south of Hebron in the southern West Bank.

An illegal settler also attempted to run over a number of Palestinian children in Khirbet al-Halawa in the same area. Settlers also chased other children while herding their sheep in the area, Wafa said.

In the northern city of Nablus, illegal settlers attacked Palestinian farmers while cultivating their land in the town of Aqraba, Wafa said. Attackers also hurled stones at a Palestinian house in Douma village, smashing the building’s windows.

More than 500,000 illegal Israeli settlers live in settlements and outposts across the West Bank, while another 250,000 live in settlements built on land in occupied East Jerusalem, according to the Israeli left-wing group Peace Now.

Illegal settlers have escalated their attacks against Palestinians in the West Bank since the outbreak in the Gaza Strip in October 2023.

According to Palestinian figures, Israeli forces and illegal settlers have killed at least 1,109 Palestinians in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, injured nearly 11,000, and detained 21,000 since October 2023.

Last year alone, at least 14 Palestinians lost their lives in attacks by illegal settlers in the occupied territory.

The International Court of Justice declared Israel’s occupation of Palestinian territory illegal in a landmark opinion last July, and called for the evacuation of all settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem.