Israeli settlers attack Palestinian villages, burn vehicles and injure several residents in the West Bank.
Israeli settlers burned vehicles and properties under the protection of Israeli forces while injuring at least 21 Palestinians across the occupied West Bank.
Jalal Bashir, head of the Jinasfut village council, told Wafa news agency on Monday evening that the attacks took place in the villages of Jinasfut and Funduq, east of Qalqilya.
He added that dozens of Israeli settlers attacked Jinasfut and burned down three houses, a nursery and a workshop. The settlers also set fire to several vehicles belonging to Palestinian residents.
A Palestinian man was injured in the head while trying to protect his home. Several others were being treated after inhaling tear gas fired by Israeli soldiers.
The Palestinian Red Crescent Society said its medical teams treated those injured by the settlers in Jinsafut and Fanduq, adding that the victims suffered bruises when they were beaten by the settlers.
In the southern West Bank, Israeli settlers also stormed a Palestinian house in the Masafer Yatta area. Dozens of settlers attacked Palestinian vehicles with stones south of Hebron, damaging several of them.
Yesh Din, which monitors human rights in the occupied Palestinian territory, shared video clips showing Palestinian-owned vehicles and a burning building during previous settler attacks.
#Ceasefire? Not in the West Bank
This evening, dozens of settlers attack Palestinian villages in the West Bank.
In the village of Sinjil – Settlers burned two houses and at least four vehicles.
In the village of Ein Siniya – Settlers attacked and burned houses.
In… pic.twitter.com/nZ24wiEK5B– Yesh Din English (@Yesh_Din) January 19, 2025
According to the group, settlers set fire to two Palestinian homes and set fire to at least four vehicles in the village of Sinjil, located northeast of Ramallah. In the village of Ein Siniya, settlers attacked and burned houses, north of Ramallah. It added that settlers attacked and damaged Palestinian properties in Turmus Aya, northeast of Ramallah, and also threw stones at vehicles on Route 60, near al-Lubban Asharqiya, south of Nablus.
The attacks by Israeli settlers come as US President Donald Trump signed an order on Monday canceling US sanctions against them in the occupied West Bank. The Biden administration has described them as part of the “extremist colonization movement”.
The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) in Palestine also expressed concern over the “renewed wave of violence” perpetrated by Israeli settlers and armed forces in the occupied West Bank.
“The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights is alarmed by a new wave of violence perpetrated by settlers and Israeli security forces in the occupied West Bank, coinciding with the implementation of the ceasefire agreement “fire in Gaza,” he said in a statement.
.@OHCHR_Palestine is alarmed by a new wave of violence perpetrated by settlers and Israeli security forces in the occupied territories #West Bankcoinciding with the implementation of the ceasefire agreement in Gaza and the release of hostages and detainees. This was accompanied by…
– UN Human Rights in Palestine (@OHCHR_Palestine) January 20, 2025
The OHCHR also said the violence was accompanied by increased restrictions on Palestinians’ freedom of movement, including the closure of checkpoints and the installation of new gates, leading to the lockdown of entire communities.
Highlighting recent settler attacks on Palestinian villages as well as Monday’s raid on several West Bank towns by Israeli forces, which killed a Palestinian teenager, OHCHR also expressed concern about Israel’s plans to expand and intensify its operations in the Palestinian territory.
