Israel army, settlers step up attacks against Palestinians in West Bank

The Israeli occupation army and illegal settlers stepped up their attacks against Palestinians across the occupied West Bank today.

According to witnesses, army forces raided Baqa Al-Hatab village in eastern Qalqilya city and demolished a Palestinian family home.

Meanwhile, a group of illegal settlers set fire to a Palestinian-owned vehicle and tried to set a mosque ablaze near the towns of Osarin and Aqraba near Nablus city.

Local sources said illegal settlers painted racist graffiti on the mosque’s walls.

In parallel, hundreds of illegal settlers raided the site of Joseph’s Tomb in eastern Nablus city under heavy protection from Israeli occupation forces, and performed Talmudic rituals at the site, security sources said.

READ: Israel commits daily war crimes in Gaza, West Bank: Ex-premier

The Israeli army deployed snipers atop buildings near Joseph’s Tomb, according to the official Palestinian news agency Wafa.

Venerated by both Muslims and Jews; Joseph’s Tomb is believed to be the burial place of the biblical patriarch Joseph. Muslims, however, challenge this claim, saying an Islamic cleric – Sheikh Yussef Dawiqat – was buried at the site two centuries ago.

Since the start of the Israeli onslaught on the Gaza Strip on 7 October, 2023, nearly 970 Palestinians have been killed and over 7,000 injured in attacks by the Israeli army and illegal settlers across the occupied West Bank, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry.

In July 2024, the International Court of Justice declared Israel’s longstanding occupation of Palestinian territories illegal, calling for the evacuation of all settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem.