Israeli settlers shoot at Palestinians, torch barn in rampage near Ramallah

Six Palestinians were injured in the West Bank town of Burqa, near Ramallah, following a raid on the weekend by hundreds of armed Israeli settlers, the Palestinian health ministry has said, who attacked residents and destroyed property.

Health workers are treating Palestinians injured by live bullets with three victims being shot in the chest and one in a serious condition.

Two more were injured in the lower limbs and another sustained a minor injury to their upper limbs, while Israeli soldiers watched on.

A barn was also set ablaze prompting anger from the Palestinian owners, who confronted the settlers who proceeded to fire at the locals.

The arson incident resulted in "the destruction of tons of fodder, the slaughter and killing of a number of sheep and the burning of the vehicle", journalist Mohammad Samreen told The New Arab’s Arabic-language site Al-Araby Al-Jadeed.

"The settlers and soldiers fired stun grenades at the Palestinians in the northern part of Burqa, while other groups of settlers attacked the village from different directions."

Local Palestinians tried to extinguish the burning barn but were chased off by armed settlers who fired at the group.

Palestinians are subject to frequent Israeli settler and army attacks in the occupied West Bank amid Israel’s deadly military onslaught in the Gaza Strip, which has killed at least 34,151 Palestinians since 7 October, mostly women and children.

At least 484 Palestinians in the West Bank have been killed in the past six months, while over 8,000 have been arrested.

As many as 700,000 illegal settlers live in the West Bank, with settlements and outposts increasing steadily in the territory.