Israeli settlers attack West Bank villages under army’s protection

Under the protection of the Israeli army, Israeli settlers set fire to vehicles and homes in the occupied West Bank, causing injuries to multiple Palestinians. According to a report by Wafa News Agency on Monday evening, Jalal Bashir, head of the Jinnasfut village council, stated that the attacks occurred in the villages of Jinnasfut and Finduq, east of Qalqilya.

Bashir added that dozens of Israeli settlers attacked Jinnasfut, setting fire to three homes, a kindergarten, and a workshop. The settlers also set fire to several vehicles owned by Palestinian residents. One Palestinian was injured in the head while trying to protect his home, and several others are being treated after inhaling tear gas fired by Israeli soldiers.

In the southern West Bank, Israeli settlers also broke into a Palestinian home in the Masafer Yatta area. Dozens of settlers attacked Palestinian vehicles with stones south of Hebron, causing damage to multiple vehicles. It was reported that in the village of Sinjil, northeast of Ramallah, settlers set fire to two Palestinian homes and burned at least four cars. In the village of Ein Siniya, north of Ramallah, settlers attacked and set fire to homes. Additionally, settlers attacked and vandalized Palestinian-owned property in Turmus Ayya, northeast of Ramallah, and threw stones at vehicles on Highway 60 near Al Lubban ash Sharqiya, south of Nablus.

The attacks by Israeli settlers occurred as US President Donald Trump signed an order on Monday rescinding US sanctions against them for actions in the occupied West Bank. The Biden administration has described them as part of an “extremist settler movement.” The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) in Palestine also expressed shock at the "renewed wave of violence" by Israeli settlers and armed forces in the occupied West Bank.

“The UN Human Rights Office is shocked by the renewed wave of violence by settlers and Israeli security forces in the occupied West Bank, which is coinciding with the implementation of the ceasefire agreement in Gaza,” the UN Human Rights Office said in a statement. The OHCHR also stated that the violence was accompanied by increased restrictions on the freedom of movement of Palestinians, including the closure of checkpoints and the installation of new gates, leading to the lockdown of entire communities. The OHCHR also highlighted recent incidents of settlers attacking Palestinian villages, as well as attacks by Israeli forces in several towns in the West Bank on Monday, resulting in the death of a Palestinian teenager, and expressed concern about Israel's plans to expand and increase its operations in Palestinian territories.