Israeli settlers kill over 50 sheep on Palestinian farm

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Extremist Israeli settlers poisoned and killed dozens of sheep today belonging to two Palestinian brothers in the Bedouin community of Arab Al-Malihat, north-west of Jericho in the occupied West Bank.

According to the General Supervisor of Al-Baydar Organisation for Defending Bedouin Rights, Hassan Malihat, the Israeli settlers contaminated the water the sheep drank, resulting in the death of 50 sheep owned by Suleiman and Mohammad Melihat.

Malihat emphasised that this attack is part of a broader pattern of settler violence aimed at pressuring Palestinian farmers to abandon their land, reported Wafa news agency.

The latest attack by settlers comes days after Jewish settlers from nearby illegal outposts lit fires in fields of wheat and barley. Last week Israeli settlers polluted Al-Auja Spring by dumping waste into it, depriving local Palestinians of clean drinking water.

Malihat told Wafa that the local Palestinian community has been experiencing increasing daily incursions by Israeli settlers. These provocations have intensified recently, coinciding with the growth of colonial outposts in the area north-west of Jericho.

There are around 700,000 illegal Jewish settlers living in 164 settlements and 116 outposts in the occupied West Bank. According to international law, all settlements and settlement outposts built in the occupied Palestinian territories are illegal. Israel, however, distinguishes between the two, by claiming that settlements are legal, whereas outposts are set up without due process.

In recent months, illegal settlers have escalated their rampage against Palestinians and their properties throughout the occupied West Bank, ranging from arson attacks, throwing stones at Palestinians and their vehicles, uprooting crops and olive trees, attacks on homes and the theft of livestock.

The Israeli occupation’s military has been conducting regular raids in the West Bank over the past few years, but these have escalated since the start of the war against Palestinians in Gaza last October.

Palestinians have also faced violent attacks from illegal settlers. According to Palestinian media, at least 699 Palestinians have been killed since October, and nearly 5,300 others have been wounded by Israeli army fire in the occupied West Bank alone.

Israel stands accused of genocide at the International Court of Justice (ICJ), which the occupation state denies. In a recent advisory opinion, the ICJ declared the occupation to be illegal, called for it to come to an end and for reparations to be paid to Palestinains. While the court’s opinions are advisory, the law upon which they are based is binding.

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