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

UPDATES WITH MORE DETAILS ON THE ISRAELI ARMY’S RAID IN THE TOWN OF AZZUN, EDITS THROUGHOUT

By Qais Abu Samra

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

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

The attack caused clashes between Palestinians and illegal settlers, with the Palestinians managing to drive the attackers out of the village, the witnesses said.

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

Witnesses said that the army turned the town into a military outpost, severely restricting movement.

Israel has closed the main entrance to the town since the start of its war on Gaza on Oct. 7 last year.

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 (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 Mohammad Sio in Istanbul