Ref: 23/2023
Date: 27 February 2023
Time: 12:30 GMT
The Palestinian Centre for Human Rights (PCHR) condemns in the strongest terms the yesterday evening’s widescale violence and retaliatory acts conducted by hundreds of settlers under the protection of the Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) in several villages in Nablus, north of the West Bank. Setter’s violence killed a Palestinian and injured another with live bullets in addition to setting dozens of houses, facilities, and vehicles ablaze.
These widescale attacks come amid the Israeli official support to settlers’ violence and allowing them to carry and use weapons against Palestinians without any accountability. These attacks are also triggered by the public incitement of hatred by ministers in the Israeli extremist government.
According to PCHR’s investigations, following the shooting attack that was carried out around 14:00 on Sunday, 26 February 2023, and killed two settlers in Huwara village in southeastern Nablus, IOF closed all Nablus’ entrances and tightened the cordon off the village from three directions. Around half an hour later, at least 500 Israeli settlers started to gather at Huwara and Za’tara checkpoints surrounding Huwara village and down to the Yitzhar Bypass Road leading to “Yitzhar” settlement, which cordons off the village from the southwestern side, and amid the attendance of IOF and Israeli officials from the government at the scene. During their demonstration, the settlers intentionally carried out largescale attacks and violence acts against Palestinians and their property, houses, shops, and vehicles, and in Huwara village, and deliberately set them ablaze without any intervention from the IOF to stop them. The settlers’ attacks continued until 23:15, causing bruises to several Palestinians, completely burning 7 houses, 6 cars garages and 34 vehicles and breaking the windows of 25 houses by stone-throwing and the windows of 20 other vehicles were smashed as well.
Also, 3 ambulances and a civil defense vehicle were attacked and thrown with stones by the settlers, who denied them access to the village to rescue the wounded and extinguish the fire.
Coinciding with the widespread attacks on the village, at approximately 17:00, at least 70 settlers, from “Yitzhar” settlement, attacked ‘Asira al-Qibliya village in Nablus, threw stones at Palestinians’ houses, and poured a flammable material on a house entrance, causing damage to it. Afterwards, clashes broke out with Palestinians.
At approximately 21:00, around 100 Israeli settlers, under IOF’s protection, attacked Za’atara village adjacent to Za’atara checkpoint, southeast of Nablus, and carried out widescale attacks against Palestinians and their property in the village. Meanwhile, many Palestinians gathered in front of their houses and facilities to protect them from being attacked and burned. During which, the settlers opened fire at the Palestinians from a distance of 100 meters. As a result, Sameh Hamadallah Mahmoud al-Aqtash (37) was shot with a live bullet in his abdomen when he was with his brothers and others in front of his blacksmith workshop to protect it at the village entrance. Al-Aqtash was taken to Bita Clinic, where doctors pronounced him dead succumbing to his serious injury. Later, the settlers withdrew from the village and IOF imposed a military cordon on the village.
Around the same time, Israeli settlers, from “Yitzhar” settlement, attacked Burin village, southeast of Nablus, and set a livestock barrack ablaze, south of the village. They also burned a livestock barn and 5 vehicles, and threw stones at Palestinians’ houses before the villagers could confront the settlers and forced them to withdraw.
PCHR condemns the settlers’ violence and affirms that IOF are responsible for this systematic violence supported by the highest political echelons in Israel.
PCHR calls on the international community and the UN bodies to assume their legal and moral responsibilities, take immediate action to stop IOF and settlers’ crimes against Palestinians, and provide protection for them.
