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| Burning cars and buildings in al-Mughir following the settler attack in the occupied West Bank [GETTY] |
Groups of Israeli settlers have been storming Palestinian villages, setting cars and buildings alight and attacking Palestinians, leaving one resident killed and dozens more wounded, as violence in the occupied West Bank soars.
Palestinians in the West Bank were on edge Saturday as Israeli forces patrolled towns and villages after hundreds of settlers descended on the village of al-Mughayir, northeast of Ramallah, on Friday and fired live bullets and set fires to vehicles and buildings.
The local mayor said that some 1,500 settlers stormed the town on Friday in a three-hour raid. Head of al-Mughayir village council Amin Abu Alia told Al Jazeera network that the attack was the “largest and most violent” the village had faced.
Overnight Friday, settlers attacked the village of Abu Falah, setting cars alight and attacking the residents, leaving five people injured, according to local reports.
Several villages were closed off by Israeli forces on Saturday, including al-Mughayir, Silwad and Turmus-Aya, local media reported. Settlers attacked Palestinian cars with live bullets near the villages of Atara and Duma, Palestinian news agency Wafa reported.
Confrontations between Palestinians and settlers near the town of Deir Dibwan took place on Saturday. Videos which could not be verified by The New Arab showed large groups of men accompanied by Israeli soldiers near the village entrance.
Since the start of the Gaza war in October, Palestinians in the West Bank have been subject to increasing violence by Israeli settlers, who are often armed and accompanied by the Israeli military.
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