WEST BANK, (Palestine Foundation Information Center), Jewish settlers set fire to several unoccupied tents in the “Al-Maita” area of the northern Jordan Valley late last night. The tents belonged to Palestinian families who had already been forcibly displaced due to escalating threats and attacks.
The incident comes amid a broader escalation. According to the Wall and Settlement Resistance Commission, Israeli forces and settlers carried out 1,872 attacks in January alone, including 468 carried out by settlers.
In the early hours of the morning, groups of settlers, under the protection of Israeli forces, were reported to be moving across several areas in the West Bank.
In the Nablus governorate, settlers attacked the outskirts of the towns of Qusra and Jalud, targeting Palestinian property and attempting to damage agricultural greenhouses before residents intervened.
Armed groups of settlers were also seen along the Yitzhar bypass road, obstructing the movement of Palestinians heading to Friday prayers.
In the Bethlehem area, settlers pursued farmers and shepherds in the Khala’il al-Louz area, preventing them from accessing their land since early morning in an effort to impose new settlement realities on the ground.
In the Occupied Jerusalem governorate, settler groups stormed agricultural land in the Shaab al-Butm area and nearby villages in Masafer Yatta, south of al-Khalil, extending into the southern Jerusalem countryside. They cut down a number of olive trees, while movement restrictions were tightened at checkpoints surrounding the occupied city, alongside settler calls to gather near the gates of the Old City.
In Salfit, settlers blocked an agricultural road in the town of Kifl Haris and threw stones at Palestinian vehicles, causing damage but no reported injuries.
Data indicate that settler violence has become increasingly organized and recurrent, with a noticeable rise in frequency in recent months.
