Illegal settlers import Gaza-like violence to West Bank towns
Palestinian families inspect their destroyed houses in the al-Maghazi refugee camp, Gaza Strip, Palestine, April 15, 2024. (EPA Photo)


Palestinians in al-Mughayyir in the occupied West Bank are still coping with the trauma of the night of terror on Saturday when illegal Israeli settlers, shielded by the Israeli army, unleashed unprecedented attacks reminiscent of Gaza's turmoil.

The village, nestled on the West Bank's eastern slopes, is reeling from the violence.

Amid the chaos, one Palestinian lost their life, and many were wounded, while homes and vehicles were set ablaze in the assault by illegal settlers.

The Israeli military's imposition of checkpoints has further tightened the siege on al-Mughayyir since Saturday, with charred vehicle carcasses now marking the town's entrance from Abu Falah village.

"We lived through a terrifying and disastrous night as a result of settler attacks under the protection of the Israeli army," said Kazem Al-Haj Muhammad, a settlement resistance activist in al-Mughayyir.

He told Anadolu Agency (AA) that, "More than 15 vehicles were burned in the village, several houses were partially burned and barracks for raising sheep were burned and destroyed as well."

Muhammad pointed out that the attacks resulted in the death of one Palestinian and the injury of more than 40 others.

He stressed that the illegal settlers are implementing the Israeli government's agenda based on expelling residents and seizing lands.

He pointed to residential settlement outposts and other pastoral outposts, saying: "They control everything, preventing residents from reaching their lands and preventing shepherds from grazing their livestock."

A Palestinian, Osama Jabr Abu Alia, told AA that "about 1,500 settlers, most of them carrying weapons, attacked the residents. What can we do?"

"We are no better than our people in the Gaza Strip," he said, adding that "our homes were burned and nothing remained of our vehicles."

"Three of my brothers were injured by bullets, and four of my sons were also injured and taken for treatment," he added.

"What happened is unimaginable. They targeted houses, people, trees and even animals, some of which were executed," Alia said.

He also said the settlers confiscated 50 heads of sheep belonging to his cousins.

"We barely got the family out, otherwise, they would have been killed," added Alia.

Tamer Abu Alia, another village resident, told AA, "We are grateful that our families are okay."

He noted that the illegal settlers burned two vehicles he owned and parts of his house.

In a press statement, the Palestinian National and Islamic Forces of Ramallah and al-Bireh governorate called for maintaining "a state of alert, and constant and continuous vigilance, to thwart the malicious plans" aimed at uprooting the Palestinians from their land.

It also called for "thwarting the colonizers' attempts to terrorize Palestinian villages and towns with the ugliest forms of terrorism and brutality," in addition to "taking the necessary measures and procedures to provide villages and towns with the elements for survival and steadfastness, and taking immediate action to stop these crimes and aggressive actions against the Palestinian people."

The town of al-Mughayyir, east of Ramallah in the central West Bank, has been through bloody hours after hundreds of settlers attacked it on Saturday night.

Tensions have been high across the occupied territory amid ongoing Israeli attacks on the Gaza Strip, which left nearly 33,800 people dead since a cross-border attack by Hamas on Oct. 7.

At least 468 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli army fire in the West Bank since then, according to the Health Ministry.