Settlers torch Palestinian cars amid West Bank raids, demolitions

Israeli settlers continued attacking Palestinians in the occupied West Bank on Thursday, following a night in which settlers torched cars, while international charity Medical Aid for Palestinians (MAP) said Israeli raids and restrictions have prevented its staff from carrying out their work.

Israeli settlers wounded two Palestinians, leaving them with head injuries, in the village of Farkha, west of Salfit, on Thursday after attempting to steal a flock of sheep, the official Palestinian Wafa news agency reported.

The attacks came after settlers torched Palestinian-owned cars in the village of Atara, near Ramallah, overnight and sprayed graffiti calling for revenge following a car-ramming involving the son of Israel's ambassador to the US, Neria Leiter, on Wednesday.

Some of the graffiti read "Revenge Olga Alei Zahav Leiter", referring to the killing of Netanel Shakron, a resident of the Alei Zahav settlement who was shot dead on Sunday.

Other graffiti read "Qusra, wait for Thursday" and "Evacuations – we promised, we delivered", in an apparent reference to the village of Qusra, south of Nablus, which has been under siege by Israeli settlers and subjected to army restrictions since mid-August.

Thursday also marked the second consecutive day that Israeli forces continued to raze agricultural land in the village of Deir Nizam, in the central West Bank, while 17 apartments were also demolished.

The New Arab's West Bank correspondent, Naela Khalil, said the land being targeted is home to thousands of olive trees that are key to the livelihoods of Palestinians.

The head of the village council, Ramzi al-Araj, told The New Arab that the "bulldozing affects around 215 dunums of land located east of the village of Deir Nizam".

He described the operation as an example of "collective punishment", warning that its continuation could threaten the wider area and residents' livelihoods, particularly as the olive harvest season approaches.

In Beit Imrin, northwest of Nablus, Israeli forces bombed the home of Palestinian detainee Dawas Hassoun. Israeli authorities have accused Hassoun of killing a settler around a year and a half ago.

Israeli raid disrupts MAP work

According to MAP, Israeli forces carried out a raid earlier this month on the town of Biddu, northwest of Jerusalem, arresting at least 53 Palestinians.

In a statement shared with The New Arab, the organisation said one of its staff members had been prevented from working and that the raid had taken a physical and mental toll on them.

"The Israeli forces restricted movement, closed all the shops, bakeries and pharmacies, and harassed the citizens. They imposed a curfew that no one was allowed to leave their homes. They started firing tear gas and searched cars and houses. They entered a house in my village and turned it into a military post and an interrogation centre. They detained more than 50 men, interrogated them and beat them," the MAP staff member said.

They added that the town remained unsafe and vulnerable to Israeli attacks, which had prevented MAP from carrying out vital work, including medical check-ups, mental health services and the provision of medicine.

The latest developments come after Israeli ministers and members of parliament on Wednesday attended an event to inaugurate an illegal settlement built in an area from which Palestinian residents had been expelled.

The settlement, named Metzoke Eretz, is among 104 settlements legalised by the government during its last term.

Its outposts were built directly on registered privately owned Palestinian land.

The far-right Israeli minister Bezalel Smotrich attended the event, along with far-right MK Limor Son Har-Melech and Israeli media personality Yaakov Bardugo.

On Thursday, the Wall and Settlement Resistance Commission reported that Israeli authorities had approved the construction of 400 settlement units in the Karnei Shomron settlement, located on Palestinian land east of Qalqilya.

The commission said construction was set to begin on 23 November, marking a shift from the planning stage to the marketing and implementation phase.

Since the start of Israel's war on Gaza in 2023, there has been a surge in Israeli military raids and settler attacks against Palestinians in the occupied West Bank.