Armed Illegal Israeli settlers storm West Bank village, damage Palestinian property

Armed illegal Israeli settlers stormed the Bedouin village of Ras Ein al-Auja, north of Jericho in the occupied eastern West Bank on Saturday, attacking Palestinian-owned property, according to eyewitnesses and human rights groups.

Hassan Mleihat, coordinator of the al-Baydar Organization for the Defense of Bedouin Rights, said armed illegal settlers in groups entered the village with herds of sheep, grazing them near Palestinian homes, damaging property, and trying to stop residents from reaching their lands.

“Settler attacks on Bedouin communities have sharply escalated and now target every aspect of Bedouin life,” Mleihat said.

In the northern Jordan Valley, illegal settlers also stole water pumps and destroyed crops in Khirbet al-Deir, eyewitnesses told Anadolu.

The Jordan Valley is in the northeastern part of the occupied West Bank and falls under the Tubas governorate.

Since the start of the Israeli war on Gaza on Oct. 7, 2023, illegal settlers have set up 60 illegal outposts across the occupied West Bank, including 51 since the start of 2024, according to the Palestinian government’s Colonization and Wall Resistance Commission.

Violence by illegal settlers has forced 29 Palestinian communities to flee between Oct. 7, 2023, and the end of 2024. The commission said 311 families – around 2,000 people – were displaced.

Tension remains high across the occupied West Bank, where at least 952 Palestinians have been killed and over 7,000 injured since the Gaza war began in October 2023, Palestinian data show.

In July 2024, the International Court of Justice ruled that Israel’s occupation of Palestinian land is illegal and ordered the removal of all settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem.

READ: 420,000 Palestinians newly displaced in Gaza since Israel shattered ceasefire: UNRWA