Newsletters
Israeli settlers launched a wave of arson attacks on multiple Palestinian villages in the occupied West Bank late Saturday, torching homes, vehicles and a medical centre, according to residents and journalists on the ground, as the Israeli military condemned "violence of any kind" but offered no indication of arrests.
The attacks targeted several villages, with some of the worst destruction reported in Fandaqumiya, southwest of Jenin, and the village of Jalud. AFP journalists who visited the aftermath observed the charred remains of a house and multiple vehicles in Fandaqumiya. In Jalud, a medical centre had been set ablaze and Hebrew graffiti spray-painted on the mosque.
Hassan Al-Zoubi, a Fandaqumiya resident whose home was destroyed in the attacks, said roughly 200 assailants descended from the nearby settlement of Homesh. "They set the house on fire right before our eyes using Molotov cocktails, throwing them through the windows," he told AFP.
The Palestinian news agency WAFA reported that several Palestinians were injured across the targeted villages.
The Israeli army said it had dispatched soldiers to Palestinian villages after receiving reports of Israeli civilians committing arson against structures and property and engaging in disturbances. The military said in a statement that security forces condemn violence of any kind and would continue working to maintain security and public order in the area.
The statement did not reference any arrests or detentions related to the attacks.
The violence followed what the army described as the death of an Israeli civilian on Saturday when a Palestinian vehicle reportedly struck an Israeli vehicle. Police said they were investigating whether the incident was related to terrorism, though no confirmation had been provided at the time of reporting.
The arson attacks are the latest in a pattern of escalating settler violence that has drawn growing international alarm. Since the start of the conflict between the United States, Israel and Iran, six Palestinians have been fatally shot in settler attacks in the West Bank, according to a tally based on data from the Ramallah-based health ministry.
The Palestinian presidency condemned what it called terrorist attacks carried out by Israeli colonist gangs, describing the assaults as a serious escalation for which the Israeli occupation government bears full responsibility.
Diplomats from 13 European nations and Canada issued a joint statement on Saturday denouncing what they termed increasing settler terror, and demanded that violent attempts to seize Palestinian land must end.
1 min read
The West Bank, which Israel has occupied since 1967, is home to roughly three million Palestinians alongside more than 500,000 Israelis living in settlements and outposts considered illegal under international law. The international community, with the exception of Israel, broadly views the settlements as a violation of the Fourth Geneva Convention, which prohibits an occupying power from transferring its civilian population into occupied territory.
Violence across the territory has intensified sharply since the Hamas attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, which triggered the ongoing war in Gaza.
According to an AFP tally drawing on Palestinian health ministry figures, Israeli troops or settlers have killed at least 1,050 Palestinians in the West Bank since the start of the Gaza conflict.
The dead include militants as well as scores of civilians. Official Israeli figures place the number of Israelis killed in Palestinian attacks or during military operations in the territory at 45, including both soldiers and civilians.
Set as preferred source
Set as preferred source
1 min read
