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Israeli settlers continue raids in the occupied West Bank despite Iran attacks
Israeli settler groups have continued their attacks on Palestinian property in the occupied West Bank even as Israel entered a state of emergency over ongoing Iranian attacks.
Palestinian sources reported that settlers attacked Palestinian property and set fires near Ramallah, Nablus and Qalqilya.
In al-Mazra'a al-Sharqiya, east of Ramallah, settlers vandalised and set fire to Palestinian property on Saturday evening.
One group of settlers attacked an industrial facility in the town and smashed the windshield of a vehicle.
Abdel Samad Abdel Aziz, the owner of the facility, told Middle East Eye that 70 settlers had attacked the stone factory with the intention of destroying it, and the townspeople gathered to confront them.
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"When we went to the factory, we found the settlers had set fire to the existing vehicles and mobile rooms," he explained.
"They were all armed, and we tried to confront them, unarmed."
The settlers attacked the townspeople with sticks and stones while the Israeli army was still present and did nothing to disperse the settlers.
The industrial zone in which the factory is located employs 800 Palestinian workers and is worth $200m to the local economy.
'They were all armed, and we tried to confront them, unarmed'
- Abdel Samad Abdel Aziz
"The settlers' goal is to undermine the Palestinian economy in the eastern part of Ramallah, which is concentrated in our town," said Abdul Aziz.
"This area includes two cement and brick factories, 11 stone factories, and several blacksmith and carpentry workshops that serve tens of thousands of Palestinians."
Abdul Aziz and his brothers, who own several factories, hold American citizenship, but this was ignored by the Israeli army and the settlers, he said.
The settlers then attempted to burn down several homes in the town, but residents continued to confront them and defend their property.
The Israeli army, however, intercepted and attacked the Palestinians.
"They don't want quiet, they want constant problems. They even destroyed the olive trees on the sides of the road. Everything in their ideology is terrorism," he added.
Sporadic attacks
Settler attacks have not ceased despite the declaration of a state of emergency following the outbreak of war between Israel and Iran.
The Israeli army has imposed a complete closure on the West Bank, preventing Palestinians from moving freely.
Settlers attacked Palestinian vehicles with stones on Monday on al-Mu'arrajat Road, northwest of Jericho, and uttered provocative language, disrupting traffic and forcing several vehicles to turn back and take other routes.
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Another group dismantled a tin house belonging to a Palestinian in the neighbouring village of
Arab al-Malihat, which had been inhabited by a family displaced during the previous attack on
the Arab al-Kaabneh Elementary School in the village a few months earlier.
A settler demolished an agricultural room in Kafr ad-Dik, west of Salfit, with a bulldozer on Monday morning, claiming it lacked a permit. The operation was carried out with full protection from the Israeli army.
For several days, a group of armed settlers has been carrying out extensive land levelling operations on Palestinian land in the village of Yasuf, east of Salfit.
Since the inauguration of the current Israeli government in 2022, settlers have escalated their attacks and assaults against Palestinians, with direct government support and instructions from far-right ministers Itamar Ben Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich.
