RAMALLAH, Palestine
An elderly Palestinian died Thursday after suffering a heart attack following harassment by illegal Israeli settlers in the central West Bank, Palestinian media reported.
Aayed Arar, 60, from the town of Qarawat Bani Zeid north of Ramallah, died after illegal settlers stormed Sofia Park, where he worked as a guard, the Wafa news agency said.
Medical sources told Wafa that Arar suffered a fatal heart attack after a group of illegal settlers gathered around him while he was on duty at the park, located between the towns of Farkha and Qarawat Bani Zeid.
A video circulating online showed a group of illegal Israeli settlers entering the park and verbally assaulting the man with insults and threats before he collapsed to the ground.
Since the start of the Gaza war on Oct. 8, 2023, attacks by Israeli forces and illegal settlers in the West Bank have killed 1,133 Palestinians, injured about 11,700 others, and led to the arrest of roughly 22,000 people.
In addition to killings and arrests, Israeli forces and illegal settlers have carried out home demolitions, property destruction, displacement, and settlement expansion across the occupied territory, including East Jerusalem, which the international community considers occupied territory.
In a landmark opinion in July 2024, the International Court of Justice declared Israel’s occupation of Palestinian territory illegal and called for the evacuation of all settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem.
*Writing by Mohammad Sio in Istanbul