657,000 live in 198 illegal settlements in Jerusalem and the West Bank
Ramallah (QNN) – Occupied Jerusalem and West Bank have been witnessing increasing attacks by illegal settlers during the last years, according to Abdallah Al Hourani center for documentation and studies.
The PLO center has issued a fact sheet on Tuesday, which revealed that the attacks by illegal settlers have increased during the last few years, especially in 2018. It also stated that illegal settlements in occupied Jerusalem and the West Bank have increased to reach 198 settlements with a total population of around 675,000.
Settlers attacks were mostly in Hebron, Nablus, Bethlehem, Jerusalem, and Ramallah, and were in different forms from run-over attacks to throwing stones and gun fire, which resulted in 8 deaths among Palestinians, 2 of whom were children.
Israel plans to increase the numbers of settlers within the next years to reach one million, the report stated.
Settlers’s attacks also resulted in the uprooting of about 6350 fruit-bearing trees and the death of 42 head of cattle in 2018.
Israel has dramatically increased its illegal settlement building and plans for future units in the West Bank and Jerusalem since US President Donald Trump entered the Oval Office.
