5 Palestinians assaulted by illegal settlers, arrested by Israeli army in West Bank

By Anadolu staff

ISTANBUL (AA) — The Israeli army on Monday evening arrested five Palestinians after they were assaulted by illegal settlers in the eastern occupied West Bank.

According to official Palestinian news agency Wafa, the settlers stopped the group of Palestinians on a road in the northwestern city of Jericho, assaulted them, and damaged their vehicle.

The Israeli army later intervened and arrested the Palestinians, Wafa added.

There are 451,000 illegal settlers in 132 settlements and 147 outposts in the West Bank, along with 230,000 in the occupied East Jerusalem, according to the left-wing Israeli Peace Now movement.

Meanwhile, the Israeli army carried out several raids into Palestinian areas, including one in the village of Roujeeb, near Nablus city, and another in Tulkarem city, in the northern West Bank.

Tensions have been running high across the West Bank since Israel launched a deadly military offensive against the Gaza Strip, where more than 35,500 people have been killed following a Hamas attack on Oct. 7, 2023.

Nearly 504 Palestinians have since been killed and around 5,000 others injured by Israeli army fire in the occupied territory, according to the Health Ministry.

Israel stands accused of genocide at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) which in January issued an interim ruling that ordered Tel Aviv to stop genocidal acts and take measures to guarantee that humanitarian assistance is provided to civilians in Gaza.

*Writing by Ahmed Asmar