Illegal Israeli settlers attacked activists and foreign volunteers early on Thursday in the Bedouin community of Shallal al-Auja, north of Jericho in the eastern parts of occupied West Bank, local media reported.
A group of illegal settlers from nearby outposts raided the community and assaulted activists and international supporters who were there to help protect Palestinian residents, Hassan Mleihat, director of the Bedouin rights group al-Baydar, told the official Palestinian news agency Wafa.
He said activists and unarmed villagers confronted the illegal settlers and forced them to flee.
Wafa did not specify the nationalities of the foreign volunteers.
According to the Colonisation and Wall Resistance Commission, illegal Israeli settlers have carried out 621 attacks against Palestinians and their property in the occupied West Bank in November alone.
In a landmark opinion in July last year, 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.
Widening restrictions and raids
Simultaneously, the Israeli army widened its military campaign in the northern parts of occupied West Bank on Thursday, imposing a tight cordon on the Kafr Saba neighbourhood in Qalqilya and restricting Palestinian movement inside the area.
Troops raided Qalqilya at dawn and enforced a curfew on Kafr Saba while deploying across several parts of the city.
They said soldiers searched homes and questioned residents as tension grew around the neighbourhood.
In a related development, the army withdrew from the town of Masliya, south of Jenin, after raiding it for hours and imposing a curfew. Damage from the raid remained visible across the town.
Meanwhile, Israeli forces continued their third day of operations in nearby Qabatiya, enforcing tight movement restrictions and carrying out repeated home raids.
Towns in the northern parts of occupied West Bank have seen a sharp escalation since last week after the Israeli army launched a new operation, beginning in Tubas and Tammun before expanding to Qabatiya and Masliya. The campaign has included curfews, raids, mass detentions and damage to infrastructure.
