Israel settlers storm Bedouin community near Jericho in Occupied West Bank

Israeli police detain a man as Bedouins protest in the southern Israeli village of Sawe al-Atrash in the Neguev Desert against an afforestation project by the Jewish National Fund (JNF), [AHMAD GHARABLI/AFP via Getty Images]

A group of Israeli settlers this morning stormed the Bedouin community of Arab Al-Malihat, located north-west of Jericho in the Occupied West Bank.

The General Supervisor of Al-Baydar Organisation for Defending Bedouin Rights, Hassan Malihat, reported that the settlers had intruded into the community twice since dawn, aiming to provoke and intimidate the residents.

According to Wafa news agency, attacks include physical assaults on citizens, demolition of homes and confiscation of land, destruction of crops, seizure of property, setting up ambushes at night to terrorise citizens and preventing shepherds from accessing pastures.

Malihat told Wafa that the Arab Al-Malihat 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.

He added that the Occupation authorities and settlers are exploiting the war on Gaza to carry out the largest collective displacement operation against Bedouin communities.

Israel has illegally confiscated about 27,000 acres of land in the Occupied West Bank and forced 25 Palestinian communities to leave since the start of the war on Gaza last 7 October, continuing its decades-long land grab, a Palestinian government body reported last month.

After 7 October when Israel’s offensive began, Moayya Sha’ban, head of the Colonisation and Wall Resistance Commission, said that Israeli planning authorities subjected to study “a total of 52 structural plans for the purpose of building a total of 8,829 colonial units on an area of 6,852 decares, of which 1,895 units were approved”.

On settler attacks, he said that since 7 October, Israeli settlers carried out a total of 1,156 attacks resulting in the death of 12 Palestinians.

Under international law, Jewish settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem are illegal.

Israel is accused of genocide at the International Court of Justice (ICJ). An interim ruling in January ordered Tel Aviv to stop genocidal acts and take measures to guarantee that humanitarian assistance is provided to civilians in Gaza.

READ: Israel freezing work permits for 80,000 Palestinian workers from West Bank

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