Israeli Settlers Torch Vehicles, Deface Homes in West Bank

(MENAFN) Israeli settlers stormed the Palestinian village of Umm Safa, northwest of Ramallah in the central occupied West Bank, early Tuesday — torching two vehicles belonging to local residents and scrawling racist slogans in Hebrew across the walls and doors of multiple homes before withdrawing from the area, local sources told media.

The village has repeatedly been targeted by settlers operating from illegal Israeli settlements and outposts established on Palestinian land in the surrounding area, according to the same sources.

Tuesday's raid is part of a widening pattern of settler violence across the West Bank, which has seen a surge in attacks encompassing the burning of Palestinian homes, vehicles and property, physical assaults on residents, and the establishment of new unauthorized settlement outposts.

The escalation has intensified sharply since the outbreak of Israel's war in Gaza in October 2023. Data published by the Palestinian Government Media Office on May 26 paints a stark picture of the toll: 1,168 Palestinians killed, 12,666 injured, approximately 23,000 arrested, and 33,000 displaced across the West Bank since hostilities began.

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