Israeli Jewish settlers set Palestinian cars, homes, fields on fire

Large numbers of extremist Israeli Jewish settlers attacked several Palestinian towns in the occupied West Bank on Tuesday evening and attacked Palestinians, setting their cars, homes and fields on fire. This was a copycat attack of a “pogrom” carried out in Huwara by Jewish settlers earlier this year. All Jewish settlers and the settlements in which they live are in the West Bank and Jerusalem illegally according to international law.

Eyewitnesses said that carloads of extremists rampaged through the towns of Al-Laban al-Sharqiya, Huwara, Beit Furik, Burin and others near Nablus. The settlers hurled stones and set cars, fields, homes and other Palestinian property ablaze.

Palestinian activist Ghassan Daghlas said that 34 Palestinians were injured and at least 140 vehicles were set on fire, including an ambulance. In addition, several homes and large areas of fields planted with wheat, olives, grapes and other fruit trees were torched.

Safa reported that one of the settlers ran over a 13-year-old Palestinian boy in Huwara, fracturing his skull. The same news agency reported that another settler ran over three Palestinians, including a 15-year-old boy, in Al Naseriyeh village. All three required emergency treatment. Medical sources reported that Palestinian boy Ismail Oweis suffered moderate injuries in the head and the back due to a brutal attack by settlers in Al-Laban al-Sharqiya.

In February, extremist settlers set dozens of Palestinian homes and cars on fire in Huwara. That was described by an Israeli general as a “pogrom”, and was the worst outburst of settler violence in decades. Palestinian media reported that over 100 homes and hundreds of cars were torched during the rampage by the settlers, which came days after 11 Palestinians were killed in an Israeli military raid in Nablus.

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