Illegal Israeli settlers attack Palestinian village, set car ablaze in West Bank

By Qais Abu Samra

RAMALLAH, Palestine (AA) - Illegal Israeli settlers attacked a Palestinian village early Monday, assaulted a Palestinian home, and set a car on fire, leading to confrontations in the northern occupied West Bank.

Witnesses reported to Anadolu that a group of illegal settlers attacked Jalud village, pelting a house with stones and torching a car.

They added that clashes erupted between Palestinians and settlers, with the Palestinians managing to drive them out of the village.

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.

Earlier in the day, the Israeli army raided the town of Azzoun east of Qalqilya in the northern West Bank, searching homes, arresting Palestinians, and demolishing houses and facilities, according to witnesses.

Tensions have been running high across the West Bank since Israel launched a deadly military offensive against the Gaza Strip, where more than 35,000 people have been killed following a Hamas attack on Oct. 7, 2023.

Nearly 500 Palestinians have since been killed and around 4,900 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 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 Mohammad Sio in Istanbul