Israeli Soldiers, Settlers Storm West Bank Villages, Injure Dozens of Palestinians

Settler violence against Palestinians is routine in the West Bank. (Photo: File)

July 5, 2020

Dozens of Palestinians were injured on Saturday in clashes with Israeli soldiers in various areas of the West Bank, as Jewish settlers stormed the town of Sila near Jenin in the north of the occupied Palestinian territory.

Palestinian official news agency WAFA said that Israeli forces had raided the village of Zabouba, west of Jenin, injuring dozens of Palestinians who protested the raid with tear gas.

A 17-year-old teenager from the village was also arrested.

Israeli soldiers also stormed the town of Qafin near Tulkarm, also using tear gas and injuring Palestinians. The troops broke into the house of a Palestinian detainee, Sheikh Majdi Ajouli, and destroyed some of his belongings, according to local Palestinian websites.

The 58-year-old has been sentenced to life imprisonment in Israel but was released as part of a prisoner swap in 2014 but re-arrested a year later.

Jewish settlers also entered the town of Sila under the protection of the Israeli army and performed religious rituals.

The town is close to the site of the former settlement of Homesh, which was dismantled by Israel in 2005 as part of a “disengagement plan” which also saw Israel withdraw from the Gaza Strip.

Other Jewish settlers on Saturday set fire to olive trees in the town of Hawara south of the West Bank city of Nablus, according to Ghassan Daghlas, a Palestinian Authority official who monitors settler activity in the northern West Bank.

On Friday, 23 Palestinians were injured in clashes with the Israeli army in Abu Dis near Jerusalem. Palestinian medics said that one Palestinian was shot with live bullets while six had been shot with rubber bullets.

Clashes between Palestinians and Israeli occupation forces have increased recently as Israel prepares to annex one-third of the West Bank, including the Jordan Valley area and major settlement blocs, according to a plan approved by US President Donald Trump and overwhelmingly rejected by Palestinians.

Settler violence against Palestinians and their property is routine in the West Bank and is rarely prosecuted by Israeli authorities.

Between 500,000 and 600,000 Israelis live in Jewish-only settlements across occupied East Jerusalem and the West Bank in violation of international law.

(Palestine Chronicle, Al-Araby Al-Jadeed, Social Media)