Israel settlers set fire to barn, olive trees in West Bank town

A group of Israeli settlers attacked a Palestinian town in the occupied West Bank, setting fire to an agricultural building and a barn, Wafa news agency reported today.

Abdul Aziz Samih Shaqir, the owner of the barn in Al-Zawiyah, a town west of Salfit, told the news site that the settlers raided the Khallet Hamad area early this morning and torched both the barn and the agricultural structure.

The barn, covering 120 square metres, along with a water well, solar panels, agricultural tools, and personal belongings inside the three-room agricultural house where the family resides, were all damaged or destroyed. The fire also burned four ancient olive trees and killed several chickens.

Zawiya’s Mayor, Anis Shaqir, condemned the attack, noting that it was carried out under the protection of Israeli occupation soldiers, adding that the town has been subjected to ongoing settler violence.

Over the past few years, the Israeli military has conducted regular raids in the occupied West Bank, which have escalated since the beginning of its war on Gaza in October last year.

At least 632 Palestinians have since been killed and nearly 5,400 others injured by Israeli army fire in the occupied territory, according to the Ministry of Health.

In a landmark advisory opinion on 19 July, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) declared Israel’s decades-long occupation of Palestinian land “illegal” and demanded the evacuation of all existing settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem and for reparations to be paid to Palestinians.

READ: Over 100 illegal Israeli settlers set fire to West Bank town