Israeli Settlers Rampage Through West Bank Villages Under Forces Protection
Occupied West Bank (Quds News Network)- Dozens of Israeli settlers, some of them armed with rifles, set fire to Palestinian-owned vehicles and properties and injured several Palestinians across the occupied West Bank on Monday evening while backed by Israeli forces.
Jalal Bashir, head of Jinasfut village council, was quoted as saying by local reports that the attacks took place in the villages of Jinasfut and Funduq, east of Qalqilya.
He noted that dozens of Israeli settlers raided Jinasfut and set fire to three homes, a nursery and a workshop. The settlers also set several vehicles ablaze.
Last night, Israeli settler militias, some of them armed with rifles, raided the village of al-Funduq, east of Qalqilia, setting vehicles and shops on fire in a major attack. pic.twitter.com/G1HPkyQd42
— Quds News Network (@QudsNen) January 21, 2025
One Palestinian sustained a head injury while trying to protect his home. Several others were undergoing treatment after inhaling tear gas fired by Israeli soldiers.
In the southern West Bank, Israeli settlers also stormed a Palestinian home in the Masafer Yatta area. Dozens of settlers attacked Palestinian vehicles with stones south of Hebron, damaging several of them.
Yesh Din, an Israeli NGO which monitors human rights in the occupied Palestinian territory, shared video clips showing Palestinian-owned vehicles and a building in flames from earlier settler attacks.
The group said that settlers set two Palestinian homes on fire and torched at least four vehicles in Sinjil village, located northeast of Ramallah. In Ein Siniya village, settlers attacked and set fire to homes, north of Ramallah.
It added that settlers attacked and damaged Palestinian-owned property in Turmus Aya, northeast of Ramallah, and also threw stones at vehicles on Route 60, near al-Lubban Asharqiya, south of Nablus.
#Ceasefire? Not in the West Bank
Tonight, dozens of settlers are attacking Palestinian villages across the West Bank.
In the village of Sinjil – Settlers set fire to two homes and at least four vehicles.
In the village of Ein Siniya – Settlers attacked and set fire to homes.
In… pic.twitter.com/nZ24wiEK5B— Yesh Din English (@Yesh_Din) January 19, 2025
The Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) in Palestine also expressed alarm at the “wave of renewed violence” by Israeli settlers and armed forces in the occupied West Bank.
“The UN Human Rights Office is alarmed by a wave of renewed violence perpetrated by settlers and Israeli security forces in the Occupied West Bank, coinciding with the implementation of the Gaza ceasefire agreement,” it said in a statement.
The OHCHR also said the violence was accompanied by reinforced restrictions on Palestinians’ freedom of movement, including the closure of checkpoints and installation of new gates, resulting in entire communities being locked in.
