Israeli settlers attack Palestinian village in West Bank

Israeli settlers attacked Palestinian homes in a village in the West Bank, under the protection of the Israeli army.

The settlers launched several attacks on the Qusra village in the southern city of Nablus in the northern West Bank, while the army reportedly used "live bullets" to deter local Palestinians.

The Palestinian Red Crescent Society said it treated a 29-year-old Palestinian man who was injured in the attacks and was transported to hospital.

An anti-settler activist told Anadolu that Palestinian neighbourhoods in the city centre have mostly been under curfew since 7 October, with the army also conducting arrest campaigns and pursuing residents who are forced to leave their homes.

This latest attack comes from an alarming rise of settler violence within the region since April.

Since the start of October, the United Nations has recorded over 700 settler attacks until 3 April.

While settler attacks were common prior to 7 October, with 2023 being the highest level of recorded attacks, there has been a notable increase after the death of a 14-year-old Israeli settler.

Seventeen Palestinian villages and communities have since been attacked, killing at least 17 Palestinians, wounding 400 and displacing 1,200.

Human Rights Watch (HRW) said settlers have "assaulted, tortured, and committed sexual violence against Palestinians, stolen their belongings and livestock, threatened to kill them if they did not leave permanently, and destroyed their homes and schools"

The United Nations has also slammed the Israeli forces for participating in the attacks by keeping quiet. HRW reported the military either took part or did not protect Palestinians from these attacks.

The West Bank has been under Israeli occupation since 1967, with a slow surge in illegal settler outposts.

Israel’s finance minister, Bezalel Smotrich, declared 800 hectares of land was seized in March, the largest seizure since the 1993 Oslo Accords.

Overall, 500 Palestinians have been killed in the West Bank since 7 October.