(The Guardian) Israeli settlers have carried out a series of attacks across the occupied West Bank, setting homes and vehicles on fire and wounding several Palestinians in what witnesses described as coordinated raids on communities.
The violence, reported across at least half a dozen locations overnight from Saturday into Sunday, comes amid a wider surge in tensions in the territory.
The official Palestinian news agency, Wafa, cited local sources as saying settlers had entered al-Fandaqumiya and the nearby town of Seilat al-Dahr, south of Jenin, late on Saturday.
In al-Fandaqumiya, settlers set fire to houses and cars and smashed windows of other homes as residents “attempted to confront them and put out the fires”, according to Wafa. In Seilat al-Dahr, several homes were targeted and a resident was beaten, leaving him injured.
In the villages of Qaryout and Jaloud, south of Nablus, about 100 masked settlers carried out successive waves of raids. Witnesses described scenes of chaos as vehicles were set ablaze and homes attacked.
Israeli troops and police were present on the outskirts of the villages by 2am but did not stop the attacks, which continued into the night, or prevent settlers moving between villages, witnesses told the Guardian.
The attacks unfolded during Eid al-Fitr, which marks the end of Ramadan, and form part of a broader escalation in settler violence.
The violence, reported across at least half a dozen locations overnight from Saturday into Sunday, comes amid a wider surge in tensions in the territory.
The official Palestinian news agency, Wafa, cited local sources as saying settlers had entered al-Fandaqumiya and the nearby town of Seilat al-Dahr, south of Jenin, late on Saturday.
In al-Fandaqumiya, settlers set fire to houses and cars and smashed windows of other homes as residents “attempted to confront them and put out the fires”, according to Wafa. In Seilat al-Dahr, several homes were targeted and a resident was beaten, leaving him injured.
In the villages of Qaryout and Jaloud, south of Nablus, about 100 masked settlers carried out successive waves of raids. Witnesses described scenes of chaos as vehicles were set ablaze and homes attacked.
Israeli troops and police were present on the outskirts of the villages by 2am but did not stop the attacks, which continued into the night, or prevent settlers moving between villages, witnesses told the Guardian.
The attacks unfolded during Eid al-Fitr, which marks the end of Ramadan, and form part of a broader escalation in settler violence.
