Israeli soldiers assisting settlers in attacks on Palestinian vehicles: Video

By Mohammad Sio

ISTANBUL (AA) - A video circulating Sunday on social media showed Israeli soldiers collaborating with illegal settlers to orchestrate attacks on Palestinian vehicles in the village of Deir Dibwan east of Ramallah in the West Bank.

The footage showed two illegal settlers entering a car garage, where they splashed a car with flammable liquid and set fire to it while a group of Israeli soldiers were guarding them outside.

Israeli military officials have yet to respond to the accusations, but the incident underscores the ongoing tensions in the West Bank and the fraught relationship between illegal Israeli settlers and Palestinian communities.

Illegal settlers backed by the army stormed the Ein Samiya area east of the village of Kafr Malik and assaulted several workers, injuring one of them and kidnapping him, Palestine's official news agency WAFA reported.

Illegal settlers on Friday launched a massive attack on the village of Al-Mughayyir northeast of Ramallah in central West Bank, resulting in the killing of a young man and injury of dozens of Palestinians besides 40 homes and dozens of vehicles being torched.

The settlers on Saturday renewed their attacks on several Palestinian villages and towns in Ramallah and Nablus.

Tensions have been running high across the West Bank since Israel launched a military offensive against the Gaza Strip after a cross-border attack by the Palestinian group Hamas on Oct. 7 last year.

While illegal settlers increased their attacks, the Israeli army escalated its operations, killing at least 463 Palestinians, injuring 4,750 and detaining more than 8,000 others, according to Palestinian sources.