Palestinian couple missing after Israeli settlers burn their tent

A Palestinian man and his wife have been reported missing following an incident where Israeli settlers set fire to their tent near the village of Kisan, to the east of Bethlehem in the occupied West Bank, Wafa has reported.

According to Hassan Brijiyeh, the director of the Office of the Wall and Settlement Resistance Authority, Mohammad Abdel Fattah Al-Shalalda and his wife remain unaccounted for since the group of Israeli settlers torched their shelter and stole their livestock. The family lived close to the illegal Mitzad settlement, built on land belonging to local Palestinian citizens.

Brijiyeh pointed out that Shalalda’s family had told him that they have been unable to contact the couple and are deeply concerned about their safety. Israeli-imposed closures and the potential for illegal settler attacks create huge difficulties for the Palestinians in the occupied territory.

In the eastern region of Bethlehem, Israeli settler-colonists have been intensifying their attacks on Palestinians recently, particularly by targeting shepherds. The most recent incident involved the burning of two tents owned by members of the Shalalda family and the confiscation of a tent belonging to a local resident, Salim Abdel-Baden, in the Tuqu’ desert.

At least 17 Palestinians, including four children, have been killed by Israeli occupation forces in the West Bank since Saturday. Another 295 have been injured.

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