Settlers escalate attacks against Palestinians, their property in Nablus, Bethlehem
Nablus/Bethlehem – Saba:
Zionist settler groups escalated on Saturday their attacks against Palestinian citizens and their property in Nablus and Bethlehem in the West Bank, under the protection of Israeli occupation forces.
In Nablus, Zionist settlers started a large fire near the western wastewater treatment plant in Nablus, located west of the town of Deir Sharaf on the road connecting the cities of Nablus and Tulkarm in the West Bank.
According to the Palestinian news agency “Sanad,” citing local sources, flames and smoke were seen rising from the vicinity of the western wastewater treatment plant and the adjacent main road.
Palestinian civil defense and firefighting teams arrived promptly at the scene of the fire and began extinguishing and controlling the blaze to prevent it from spreading to neighboring areas.
In Bethlehem, Israeli settlers attacked Palestinian employees of the Jerusalem District Electricity Company in the village of Wadi Rahal, south of Bethlehem in the West Bank, on Saturday.
Palestinian security sources reported that a number of settlers attacked the employees while they were working in Wadi Rahal, resulting in minor injuries to several of them and significant damage to their vehicle, according to the Palestinian news agency WAFA.
In a separate incident, Israeli settlers stole water pipes from the Khala’il al-Luz area, southeast of Bethlehem.
Security sources told Wafa that settlers stormed Khala’il al-Luz and vandalized the area before stealing water pipes located near the reservoir that supplies the area with drinking water.
These practices come amid escalating settler attacks on Palestinians throughout the West Bank, including arson and vandalism of homes and structures, bulldozing of agricultural land, and preventing farmers from accessing their land, all part of an effort to forcibly displace the population.
There are approximately 750,000 Israeli settlers in the West Bank, distributed across 141 settlements and 224 outposts. Around 250,000 of them reside in 15 settlements located east of Jerusalem.
According to data from the Palestinian Authority’s Commission against the Wall and Settlements, the Israeli army carried out 1,108 attacks against Palestinians and their property during the month of May, while settlers committed 551 attacks during the same period.