Settlers escalate attacks against West Bank residents

Occupied West Bank- Attacks by extremist Jewish settlers in the West Bank against Palestinians have been on the rise lately, the latest of which was an attack on Friday against the village of Qusra to the south of Nablus, in the northern West Bank, wounding a Palestinian man.

Ghasan Daghlas, the PA official responsible for the settlements’ file on the northern West Bank, said: “The wounded man is Fathallah Abu Reeda”. About the attack he said that eyewitnesses from the village said that a group of armed settlers infiltrated into the southern part of village from nearby settlement outposts. The infiltrators were discovered by local young men who captured them.

Eyewitnesses said that the village guard committees released the settlers. After being released, one of the settlers started shooting. Residents came out of their homes to defend their village.

Following the incident, IOF troops on about 15 military vehicles advanced towards the village through the Jaloud-Qusra road and blocked the road.

Eyewitnesses said that locals clashed with the occupation forces which were deployed around the village.

Meanwhile, a gang of young Jewish settlers attacked on Thursday night a young Palestinian boy in a village to south of Jenin. They then took him to the dismantled Haumash settlement and assaulted him before releasing him late at night.

Locals said that a group of settlers ambushed Khalil Hamamrah, 16 years, at the fringes of the village, they kidnapped and assaulted him before the IOF transferred him to the PA’s liaison office.

The boy said that the assailants were settlers in their teens and they want to rebuild the settlement which was evacuated in 2005 by the Israeli occupation authorities, adding that they threatened him and beat him.

In another context, the Aqsa Foundation for Endowment and Heritage (AFEH) warned of calls made by Jewish groups for the storming of the Aqsa Mosque early next week as part of their attempts to build the alleged temple.

AFEH said in a statement on Thursday that a group of Jewish organizations called the “Movement for the establishment of the Temple” have distributed leaflets and launched online campaigns calling for Jews to participate in the so called “temple conference” to be held in Jerusalem on Sunday. The invitation called on Jews to break into Al-Aqsa Mosque at noon the same day.

The statement also said that Israel’s Deputy Prime Minister, Silvan Shalom, will attend amid calls to “accelerate” the building of “the Temple” on the ruins of the mosque.

AFEH urged Palestinians to confront the Zionist plans by keeping regular presence at the Aqsa Mosque to deter such attacks.