Jewish settlers set fire to dozens of olive trees, fields and agricultural land belonging to Palestinians on Sunday, after their arson attack failed to destroy a local house. The attack took place in the village of El-Mughier, east of Ramallah in the occupied West Bank.
Eyewitnesses told Quds Press that a group of Jewish settlers came from one of the Israeli settlements near the village and tried to burn a house down. They fled when they were spotted by villagers.
“While they were being chased by the villagers,” the witnesses added, “the Israeli occupation forces arrived and began to fire tear gas and rubber bullets to secure the settlers’ withdrawal.”
The same sources said that the settlers took advantage of the clashes that broke out between local youths and the occupation forces and burned dozens of olive trees in Al-Rufid, part of the land belonging to Al-Mughier. “More than 50 olive trees were burnt down.”
In the same context, the sources pointed out that the occupation forces attacked and severely beat three unidentified Palestinian youths from Al-Mughier before arresting them and taking them to an unknown destination. A number of local citizens sustained various injuries that were described as “minor”; they also suffered from tear gas inhalation.
The West Bank is in a state of high tension after Jewish settlers burnt baby Ali Dawabsheh to death in an arson attack near Nablus last Friday.