273 fires set by Israeli army, settlers in West Bank since Gaza war, Palestinian commission says

The Israeli army and settlers have set 273 fires targeting Palestinians' lands and properties in the occupied West Bank since the war on Gaza began, a Palestinian governmental commission has said.

Moayyad Shaban, the head of the Colonisation and Wall Resistance Commission (CWRC) said on Friday that the fires were set after 7 October, with 120 taking place in Nablus province, 42 in Ramallah, and 26 in Jenin.

The most recent incident occurred on Thursday night during a settler attack on the village of Jit in Qalqilya province, which also saw one Palestinian shot dead.

Shaban "said that the occupation army and colonists [settlers] have used the cover of the horrific aggression being waged by the occupying state against our people to carry out many types of crimes, with fires being the most prominent form", according to a CWRC press release.

He added that the setting of fires was a "tool of terrorism and intimidating unsuspecting people" and aimed at "inflict heavy losses on citizens, affecting Palestinians' social and economic patterns".

Of the 273 fires, 77 impacted lands, fields, and crops, while 196 targeted properties, including residential apartments, buildings, and cars.

Shaban said Israeli army raids and attacks caused 56 fires impacting government and private property, while joint settler and military attacks were responsible for nine.

Settlers alone were behind 208 fires.

Between 7 October, the day the Gaza war began, and 12 August, Israeli forces and settlers killed 594 Palestinians in the West Bank, including occupied East Jerusalem, according to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.

The overwhelming majority were killed by Israeli forces.

In Gaza, Israel's brutal military offensive has killed more than 40,000 people, according to the Palestinian enclave's health ministry.