ANKARA 

Illegal Israeli settlers set fire to at least 15 Palestinian vehicles in the cities of Nablus and Salfit in the occupied West Bank, local sources told Anadolu on Friday.

According to the sources, a group of illegal settlers also attacked a municipal well belonging to the city of Nablus.

They warned that illegal settlers may be attempting to seize control of the well, which supplies water to surrounding villages, amid repeated assaults on the area.

Meanwhile, Faed Sabra, mayor of the Palestinian town of Bruqin in Salfit, told Anadolu on Friday that Israeli bulldozers and heavy excavation equipment have been operating around the clock since early Thursday morning, destroying dozens of acres of Palestinian farmland belonging to Bruqin and Kufr ad-Dik.

"These lands, which are just meters away from Palestinian homes, are being razed in preparation for a new illegal settlement," Sabra said. "Hundreds of settlers have gathered in the area with full military protection, and the fear of a massacre by these settler gangs is growing among residents."

“The Israeli army has turned several Palestinian homes into military outposts. They’re conducting house-to-house raids, destroying property, and assaulting residents," he added. "What’s happening here is a massacre against both the people and the land."

Since Wednesday evening, Israeli forces have imposed a tight siege on Bruqin, carrying out searches and interrogations following a shooting incident in which an Israeli was killed.

On Thursday, far-right Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich called for the destruction of Bruqin and Kufr ad-Dik, drawing parallels to the Israeli military’s deadly campaigns in Gaza.

At least 967 Palestinians have been killed and over 7,000 injured in attacks by the Israeli army and illegal settlers in the occupied West Bank since the start of the war on Gaza in October 2023, according to official Palestinian figures.

In July 2024, the International Court of Justice declared Israel's decades-long occupation of Palestinian land illegal and demanded the evacuation of all settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem.