Awad Rjoub
05 May 2024•Update: 05 May 2024
RAMALLAH, Palestine
Illegal Israeli settlers launched multiple attacks targeting Palestinian gatherings Saturday in Jericho and the northern Jordan Valley, according to a Palestinian government report that documented 347 settler attacks in the West Bank in April.
The Al Baidar Organization for the Defense of Bedouin Rights said in a statement that Israeli settlers twice attacked the Arab al-Mleihat Bedouin community in northern Jericho.
“A group of extremist settlers invaded the Arab al-Mleihat community northwest of Jericho for the second time within one day," said the organization supervisor Hassan Mleihat.
He added that the illegal settlers “assaulted citizen Jamal Suleiman, a resident of the community, by throwing stones at his home and filming the homes of citizens.”
During the first raid early Saturday, illegal settlers raided and searched four homes belonging to the Mleihat family, according to the statement.
In the northern Jordan Valley, the official Palestinian news agency, WAFA, reported that “settlers attacked a citizen's vehicle and assaulted the tents of citizens in the Al-Farisiya, setting fire to some agricultural crops.”
Meanwhile, the state-run Colonization and Wall Resistance Commission (CWRC) stated that settlers carried out 347 attacks against Palestinians and their properties in the West Bank during April.
In a monthly report, it said settlers' attacks “targeted 36 Palestinian villages from north to south on April 21 and 22, resulting in the complete burning of 36 homes and partial burning of 33 homes, in addition to the burning of more than 57 vehicles partially and completely.”
The report indicated that the army seized 172 dunums (one dunum equals 1,000 square meters) of land, while “19 structural plans for settlements in the West Bank and Jerusalem were studied, and 7 plans were approved, 5 of which are in Jerusalem.”
It clarified that the plans aim to build 2,288 new settlement units in the West Bank and Jerusalem.
It also referred to the announcement by Israeli Finance Minister Smotrich to legalize five out of 50 outposts, which occupation authorities announced their desire to regulate and convert into official settlements eligible for financial allocations for basic service networks of water, electricity, roads and security.
According to the report, Israeli authorities conducted “28 demolition operations in April targeting 33 structures, including 8 inhabited homes, 3 uninhabited homes, and 5 agricultural facilities.”
Israeli authorities also issued 18 demolition notices for Palestinian structures, according to CWRC.
Tensions have been high across the occupied West Bank since Israel launched a deadly military offensive against the Gaza Strip which has killed more than 34,600 victims following an attack by the Palestinian group, Hamas, last October.
At least 497 Palestinians have since been killed and more than 4,950 injured by the Israeli army in the occupied West Bank.
Israel is accused of genocide at the International Court of Justice, which in an interim ruling in January ordered Tel Aviv to stop genocidal acts and take measures to guarantee that humanitarian assistance is provided to civilians in Gaza.
*Writing by Rania Abu Shamala
