Israeli settlers escalate attacks in Masafer Yatta under army protection

Israeli settlers this morning carried out acts of vandalism and destruction in the Masafer Yatta region, located south of Hebron in the occupied West Bank, reported Wafa news agency.

Osama Makhamra, a Palestinian community activist, stated that settlers targeted farmland owned by the Al-Hathalin family in the village of Umm Al-Khair, uprooting newly planted olive saplings and dismantling the protective fencing around the area.

In a separate assault, settlers released livestock onto agricultural land belonging to the Al-Shawahin family in the nearby Wadi Al-Jawaya area, resulting in extensive crop damage.

These attacks form part of an escalating pattern of settler violence in Masafer Yatta, where Palestinian communities continue to face threats to their homes, land and livelihoods.

Meanwhile, thousands of Israeli settlers stormed the Palestinian town of Kifl Haris, north of Salfit, last night under the heavy protection of Israeli occupation forces.

Local sources reported that Israeli soldiers raided the town ahead of the settlers, restricting Palestinian residents’ movement to clear the way for the attacks. Soon after, large numbers of settlers flooded the area to carry out Talmudic rituals at Islamic religious sites within the town.

Eyewitnesses said settlers paraded through Kifl Haris in a provocative fashion, spraying racist slogans on the walls of Palestinian homes and other private properties.

The village of Kifl Haris is known for its four historic shrines and it contains the graves of a number of religious figures. Some Jews believe them to be the Biblical figures Joshua, Caleb and Nun.

Attacks by Israeli settlers on Palestinians are increasingly common, and offenders are rarely held to account by the occupation authorities. Indeed, in most cases, the settlers who harass and attack Palestinians are accompanied and protected by Israeli occupation forces, and it is often the Palestinians who are regarded as the criminals.

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