ISTANBUL

Illegal Israeli settlers attacked Palestinian residents and shepherds Thursday in the Hebron governorate in the southern West Bank, beating them and wounding three children, a local activist said.

Osama Muhawera told the official news agency Wafa that the assault occurred while residents and shepherds were in the Masafer Yatta area south of Hebron.

Three children aged between 11 and 13 were injured in the attack and were taken to a hospital for medical treatment, Muhawera said.

The Israeli army later raided the area and detained two brothers, Wafa said.

According to Palestinian figures, illegal Israeli settlers carried out 511 attacks in the West Bank in February, ranging from physical assaults, uprooting trees, burning fields, and seizing property to demolishing homes and agricultural structures.

About 770,000 Israeli settlers live in hundreds of settlements across the occupied West Bank, including around 250,000 in East Jerusalem. Illegal settlers carry out near-daily attacks against Palestinians aimed at forcing them from their land.

Israeli forces and illegal settlers have intensified attacks in the West Bank alongside the war in Gaza that began Oct. 8, 2023, killing 1,121 Palestinians, wounding about 11,700 others and leading to the arrest of nearly 22,000 people.

Palestinians warn the attacks could pave the way for Tel Aviv to formally annex the West Bank, a move they say would end prospects for an independent Palestinian state envisioned in United Nations resolutions.