Activists said illegal Israeli settlers set fire overnight to Palestinian homes in the Bedouin community of Khallet al-Sidra in the occupied West Bank.
Several posts on social media platform X shared images and videos that showed homes burning in the village of Mukhamas, northeast of Jerusalem.
“It happened again,” one activist wrote, saying that settlers attacked the community and set houses ablaze.
Other activists said the incident marked “the third time in three months” that homes in or near Mukhamas had been burned, accusing Israeli authorities of allowing the attacks to occur without accountability.
“Another night of illegal Israeli settler violence in the West Bank,” adding that there had been “no prosecutions” related to similar incidents.
Some posts said that Israeli forces were present nearby during the incident and did not intervene.
Israeli forces raided homes
Meanwhile, Israeli forces raided homes and detained Palestinians on Thursday in the town of Hizma, northeast of occupied East Jerusalem in the occupied West Bank, as the military continued a tight siege now entering its third day.
Hizma Mayor Novan Salah al-Din said Israeli forces maintained the closure for a third consecutive day, briefly lifting it at about 5 pm local time (1500 GMT) on Wednesday before resealing the town two hours later.
The mayor added that Israeli troops carried out overnight raids on dozens of homes, turning some into temporary military posts, frightening residents and damaging property.
Israeli forces detained several young men and questioned them on the spot, he said.
Large numbers of Israeli troops remain deployed throughout the town, home to about 12,000 people, the mayor said.
‘Closed military zone’
Israeli forces imposed the siege on Tuesday, distributing leaflets in the town declaring it a “closed military zone” and barring residents from leaving until further notice.
The measures come amid an ongoing escalation around occupied East Jerusalem, where Israeli forces have stepped up military actions in surrounding areas.
Since Monday, Israeli forces have also launched a military operation in Kafr Aqab, north of occupied East Jerusalem, as part of what Israeli authorities call “Operation Capital Shield.” Israeli police and army units said the campaign aims to bolster control in the seam zone and enhance public security.
According to Palestinian figures, Israeli forces and illegal settlers have killed at least 1,109 Palestinians in the occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and wounded nearly 11,000 others since October 2023.
The International Court of Justice declared Israel’s occupation of Palestinian territory illegal in a landmark opinion in July 2024 and called for the evacuation of all settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem.
Activists called on the international community to address “the continuing pattern of settler attacks against Palestinian communities in the occupied West Bank.”
