'State-sponsored terrorism': West Bank settler violence continues unabated

As the Gaza ceasefire talks enter second day in Qatar, deadly Israeli settler violence continue in the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem.

The Wall and Settlement Resistance Commission reported on Friday that since October 7, 2023, Israeli forces and settlers have deliberately started 273 fires targeting Palestinian land and property, according to Wafa news agency.

Mouayad Shaban, head of the commission, said the Israeli military and settlers of using the ongoing conflict as cover to commit these acts of arson, calling it a state-sponsored terrorism, aiming to terrorise civilians, destroy property, and force large-scale displacement.

Shaban detailed that these fires were distributed across several areas: 120 in Nablus, 42 in Ramallah and Al Bireh, and 26 in Jenin.

The fires included 77 incidents affecting agricultural land and 196 impacting residential buildings and other properties.

Of the total, 56 were caused by military raids, nine by joint settler-military actions, and 208 by settlers alone.

Settlers attack kill one

On Thursday, more than 100 illegal Israeli settlers attacked a Palestinian town in the occupied West Bank, killing one person and setting fire to a home and several vehicles, according to multiple sources.

Israeli settlers stormed the town of Jit, situated along the main road between Nablus and Qalqilya, eye witnesses said.

The attackers then opened fire at residents, pelted stones at homes, and set fire to at least one house and several vehicles, they added.

The witnesses also said Israeli forces provided protection to the illegal settlers and prevented Palestinian civil defence vehicles from entering the town.

US condemnation

The White House condemned the attacks carried out by "violent settlers" on Palestinian civilians in the occupied West Bank "are unacceptable and must stop".

"Attacks by violent settlers against Palestinian civilians in the West Bank are unacceptable and must stop," a National Security Council spokesperson told Anadolu on condition of anonymity.

The Palestinian resistance group Hamas has also condemned the attacks.

Over the past few years, the Israeli military has conducted regular raids in the occupied West Bank, which have escalated with the beginning of Israel's war on Gaza on October 7, 2023.

At least 632 Palestinians have since been killed and nearly 5,400 others injured by Israeli army fire in the occupied territory, according to the Health Ministry.

Since October 7, settler violence has led to 18 Palestinian deaths, over 785 injuries, and the displacement of 26 Bedouin communities, according to Shaban

He warned that such actions reflect a dangerous empowerment of terrorist groups, supported by official entities, defying international condemnation of the settlement enterprise.