Israeli settlers rampage through Palestinian village near Nablus

Hundreds of Israeli settlers attacked the Palestinian village of Sarra, southwest of Nablus, on Friday, burning homes, damaging property and assaulting residents.

The attacks forced several families in the occupied West Bank village to flee for safety, residents told Middle East Eye.

Residents said that at least two homes were set on fire, while several Palestinians suffered from smoke inhalation after the fires.

Eyewitnesses told MEE that villagers also attempted to confront the attackers and prevent further damage.

The attack on the village comes after a series of attacks carried out by settlers in the Nablus area, following the deadly attack on the town of Tell.

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Mohammed Turabi, a resident of Sarra, said that he and his family were shaken by the settlers' attack on their home, where they hurled stones and Molotov cocktails.

The courtyard, vehicle and ground floor of the house were burned, but the family says it managed to escape unharmed.

“The settlers were in the hundreds and they violently attacked the house, pelting it with stones and Molotov cocktails. The yard and the vehicle caught fire,” he said.

Israeli soldiers were nearby, watching the settlers without intervening, Turabi said.

Ahmad Sarrawi, a member of the municipality, said that the settlers’ attack on the village was organised and premeditated.

The settlers had recently been constructing dirt roads to facilitate their access to Palestinian homes and their subsequent attacks, he said. 

“The settlers came from the Havat Gilad outpost and targeted the houses on the outskirts of the village, setting fire to a number of houses and vehicles with incredible speed and in large numbers,” Sarrawi explained. 

Residents eventually confronted the settlers, preventing further destruction and forcing them to leave the village, Sarrawi added.

Umm Wahid, an elderly resident, said she gathers her children every night to sleep at her daughter's house because of fears of settler attacks.

She told us that Israeli bulldozers approached her daughter's house and began uprooting olive trees, then hundreds of settlers launched a massive attack from nearby valleys.

"When we saw them attacking in such numbers, we decided to leave the house to protect the children. As soon as we left, they set the house on fire and then went to other houses in the village, breaking windows and damaging vehicles," she added.

She said one of her grandchildren fainted after inhaling thick smoke and that the children were left terrified by the attack.

Incitement campaigns

The violence coincided with continued incitement by extremist settler groups on social media, alongside an increase in attacks on Palestinian communities across the occupied West Bank.

Palestinians and human rights organisations have warned that the incitement will fuel further violence and provide cover for attacks targeting civilians and their property, amid calls for international protection for the population.

The Palestinian Presidency, the government, and the Commission Against the Wall and Settlements condemned the recent attacks on Palestinian villages, considering them part of a policy aimed at intimidating residents and forcing them to leave their land.

They also called for urgent international action to hold those responsible for these attacks accountable and to end the "impunity that encourages the recurrence of settler attacks". 

Naaman Abdullah, the mayor of Sarra, told MEE that the western part of the village is inaccessible because it is classified as Area C, meaning it is under Israeli control according to the Oslo Accords.

"This reality we are living in is like the situation in the villages neighbouring us. After the killing of four Palestinians in the village of Tell on Friday morning, the settlers moved to other villages and attacked their homes," he said.

"Then they reached our village and bulldozed the land, uprooted the trees and burned the houses," he added.

Abdullah said that repeated settler attacks, coupled with Israeli military restrictions, have made life hard, as roads are "frequently blocked by military gates", forcing residents to rely on unpaved routes to reach their homes.

middleeasteye.net