JERUSALEM/ANKARA
Around 20 Palestinians were injured early Friday when illegal Israeli settlers attacked the village of Khillet al-Daba in the southern occupied West Bank, according to local sources.
Osama al-Makhmara, a Palestinian activist involved in anti-settlement efforts, told Anadolu that dozens of illegal settlers stormed the village in the Masafer Yatta area southeast of Hebron, assaulting residents with sticks and knives.
He said the attack left at least 20 Palestinians injured, including elderly individuals, children, and a three-month-old infant. Injuries ranged from bruises and fractures to stab wounds, and nine people were taken to hospital.
Khillet al-Daba has been repeatedly targeted by illegal settlers and Israeli forces in efforts to displace its residents, activists said.
On May 5, Israeli authorities demolished 25 homes, agricultural structures, and water wells in the village, citing “unlicensed construction.”
The village is among those threatened with forced evacuation. In 2022, an Israeli court ordered its demolition, claiming it lies within a military firing zone. The decision aims to allow Israel to seize approximately 3,000 dunams of land (about 3 million square meters).
According to the Palestinian Colonization and Wall Resistance Commission, Israeli forces and illegal settlers carried out around 1,613 violations against Palestinians and their property in the West Bank during August, including 431 by illegal settlers.
Since the start of Israel’s war on Gaza on October 7, 2023, settlement expansion, demolitions, and forced displacement have intensified in the West Bank. Palestinian officials warn such measures undermine the feasibility of a two-state solution.
Since then, more than a 1,000 Palestinians have been killed and more than 7,000 injured in the West Bank by Israeli forces and illegal settlers, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry.
In an advisory opinion last July, 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.