Masked Israeli settlers attack two Palestinian villages in the West Bank

Masked Israeli settlers attacked two Palestinian villages in the occupied West Bank on Saturday, according to Israeli media.

The settlers attacked the village of Sussia, near Hebron, wounding two Palestinian.

A resident of the village said eight settlers wearing face coverings entered the village with a few teenagers, forcibly entering homes and beating a woman with a club.

A man was also wounded in the arm after being attacked.

The resident of Sussia also said the settlers had vandalised a security camera and car, with police stating an investigation had been opened.

A Sussia resident quoted by Haaretz said that police and army forces arrived in the village but left after a short time, and that a similar attack occurred a few days ago, with settlers who weren’t wearing face coverings attacking one of the village’s residents near his home.

The settlers eventually escaped, the resident said.

Another violent settler attack took place in the village of Rujeib, south of Nablus, with settlers throwing stones at Palestinian vehicles and burning their land.

The Israeli army confirmed that masked settlers arrived at Rujeib from the nearby illegal settlement of Itamar, and threw stones and damaged Palestinian vehicles, adding Israeli forces arrived at the scene and "stopped the friction and dispersed the rioters".

Last week, dozens of settlers raided the village of Jit, west of Nablus, killing a resident and shooting another, seriously wounding them.

Three other Palestinians were wounded in the attack, which was widely condemned around the world. Some settlers also threw Molotov cocktails and stones.

Since the start of the war on Gaza, there has been an uptick in attacks, arrests and raids on Palestinians in the West Bank.

The UN humanitarian agency OCHA says since the start of the war on Gaza in October, there have been at least 107 attacks that have caused Palestinians fatalities and wounds, and 859 causing damage to Palestinian property.

Israeli forces have killed over 600 Palestinians in the occupied West Bank since 7 October and arrested at least 10,000 others.

Israeli settlers, often armed, routinely assault, harass, and sometimes kill local Palestinians with whole Palestinian villages emptied due to the attacks.

The violence has reached such a level that the US, UK, and EU states have barred entry to some settler leaders, while Israel has gone ahead with the expansion of settlements in the occupied West Bank, which are illegal under international law.