EU calls for protection of Palestinians to deter settler violence

Following a series of Israeli attacks in the occupied West Bank and Jerusalem, the EU has called for the protection of the Palestinians to deter illegal settler violence.

“Last night, Israeli settlers injured several Palestinians, torched cars and damaged commercial structures in different parts of the West Bank,” the EU Delegation to the Palestinians tweeted. “Rising levels of settler violence only fuel further tensions.”

The delegation added that the Palestinians should be protected in accordance with Israel’s obligations under international law. “This is imperative now to prevent further violence ahead of Ramadan, Pesach and Easter which coincide in April.”

The EU remarks follow settler attacks, including the vandalism of vehicles, in the town of Turmus Aya, in Ramallah district. The settlers punctured the tyres of several vehicles and sprayed racist anti-Palestinian and anti-Arab graffiti on the walls of houses nearby.

According to the Palestinian Information Centre, eyewitnesses reported on Monday that illegal settlers sneaked into the northern West Bank village of Jalud, near Nablus, and threw sharp objects at parked cars. At least four of the vehicles were set ablaze.

Ghassan Daghlas, an official who monitors Israeli violations in the area, said that settlers from the nearby settlement outpost of Adei Ad were behind the latest attack.

Meanwhile, another group of settlers escorted by Israeli soldiers closed a checkpoint near Shufa village in the south-east of Tulkarem and barred Palestinian vehicles from going through the area.

READ: Two West Bank outposts evacuated, settlers begin rebuilding the next day