Illegal Israeli settlers assault Palestinians across occupied West Bank

By Awad al-Rujoub

RAMALLAH, Palestine (AA) - Illegal Israeli settlers launched a series of assaults Monday on Palestinians across the occupied West Bank.

In the southern West Bank, settlers opened fire on a Palestinian in the village of Susya, but he survived after fleeing from the assault, the head of the village council, Jihad Nawaj'a, told Anadolu.

The official Palestinian news agency Wafa said a number of Palestinians were assaulted by settlers in Susya, including a woman who was taken to the hospital for treatment after suffering bruises and cuts.

In the northern West Bank, settlers, protected by Israeli forces, raided the town of Beita, leading to confrontations with Palestinians, but no injuries were reported.

Early on Monday, Illegal Israeli settlers attacked a Palestinian school in the Mu'arrajat area northwest of the West Bank city of Jericho, according to a local activist.

Students and teachers were assaulted by illegal settlers during the attack on Arab al-Kaabneh Primary School, injuring several people and besieging the school premises, Hassan Mleihat of the non-governmental Al-Baidar Organization for the Defense of Bedouin Rights said in a statement.

According to Israeli estimates, more than 720,000 settlers live in illegal settlements across the occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem. The Israeli settlements are considered illegal under international law.

Tensions have been running high across the occupied West Bank amid Israel’s devastating military offensive on Gaza, which has killed more than 41,200 people, mostly women and children, since Oct. 7 last year.

At least 704 people, including 159 children, have since been killed and more than 5,700 injured by Israeli fire in the West Bank, according to the Health Ministry.

The escalation followed a landmark opinion by the International Court of Justice on July 19 which declared Israel's decades-long occupation of Palestinian land unlawful and called for the evacuation of all settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem.

*Writing by Ahmed Asmar