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Armed illegal Israeli settlers storm West Bank village, damage private property

Iran Press TV

Saturday, 19 April 2025 3:47 PM

Dozens of armed illegal Israeli settlers have stormed a village on the eastern side of the West Bank, attacking Palestinian-owned property, as incidents of settler violence, carried out under the protection of Israeli soldiers, are increasing across the occupied territory.

Hassan Mleihat, coordinator of the al-Baydar Organization for the Defense of Bedouin Rights, said Jewish extremists barged into Ras 'Ein al-'Auja village with herds of sheep on Saturday, grazing the livestock near Palestinian homes.

They damaged private property and tried to stop residents from reaching their lands.

"Settler attacks on Bedouin communities have sharply escalated and now target every aspect of Bedouin life," Mleihat stated.

Elsewhere in Khirbet ed-Deir village, located 10 kilometers (6.2 miles) southwest of Bethlehem, Israeli settlers stole water pumps used to irrigate crops belonging to Palestinian farmers.

The northern Jordan Valley has been for years a regular target of attacks committed by illegal settlers, along with Israeli occupation forces.

Since the formation of prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu's cabinet in late 2022, there has been a marked increase in assaults by illegal Israeli settlers on Palestinians, especially in the northern flank of the West Bank.

Various attacks on Palestinian property, including arson and graffiti, have become a daily occurrence throughout the occupied territories, particularly in the West Bank.

However, Israeli authorities rarely prosecute the Israeli settler assaults on Palestinians and their property and the vast majority of the files are closed due to deliberate police failure to investigate properly.

The Israeli military initiated its assault on the occupied West Bank on January 21, stating that the objective was to target the resistance fighters linked to the Jenin Battalion.

Since the beginning of the war in Gaza in October 2023, at least 952 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli troops and settlers, and more than 7,000 others injured in the West Bank.

Last July, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) declared that Israel's long-standing occupation of Palestinian territories is illegal, demanding the evacuation of all settlements in the West Bank and East al-Quds.