Israeli settlers destroy 47 structures in Tarqumiyah in one week
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In the southern West Bank, Israeli settlers took advantage of a ban on the entry of Palestinians to farmlands to destroy their properties.
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Properties of Palestinian villagers are set on fire by illegal Israeli settlers in the West Bank village of al-Mughayyir, in occupied Palestine, on April 13, 2024. (AP)
Palestinians reported that illegal Israeli settlers destroyed 47 agricultural structures and homes in the past week in the Taybeh area in western al-Khalil in the southern West Bank, Anadolu Agency revealed on Saturday
Residents of al-Khalil returned to find their properties demolished after Israeli occupation forces had barred them from accessing the area since early September.
One Palestinian man found his home, grape vineyard, and water tank used for irrigation extensively damaged.
"Illegal settlers took advantage of the Israeli military’s closure of roads leading to the Taybe area to carry out these acts of vandalism and destruction," Mohammad Tneina, the owner of the destroyed properties told Anadolu.
The Palestinian Tarqumiyah municipality had licensed the affected structures to Palestinians, however, Israeli occupation forces regularly prevent farmers from accessing their lands, the news agency reported.
Tneina said that illegal Israeli settlers from the Adora and Tene settlements, that surround Tarqumiyah, are responsible for the recurrent attacks.
Such attacks carried out by illegal settlers have killed 19 Palestinians, injured over 785 others, and displaced a total of 28 Bedouin communities since October 7, 2023, as reported by the Palestinian Colonization and Wall Resistance Commission.
Illegal Israeli settlers are conducting such attacks in parallel with Israeli occupation forces who are destroying Palestinian homes and civilian infrastructure in the occupied West Bank.
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In early September, the agency reported that occupation forces force demolished 78 Palestinian homes and structures in the occupied West Bank last month, citing the Palestinian Colonization and Wall Resistance Commission.
A report released by the commission on Sunday explained that among the structures destroyed by occupation forces were 36 inhabited homes. Another 74 homes and structures face the risk of demolition by Israeli authorities.
In August, at least 206 attacks against Palestinians were conducted by illegal Israeli settlers in the West Bank, including armed assaults and theft of property. Two Palestinians were killed by such attacks in Jit and Wadi Rahhal last month.
As the Israeli occupation worked on destroying natives' homes in the occupied territory, its illegal settlers established eight new colonial outposts, while authorities seized a total of 367 dunams of Palestinian land via five military orders.
The report comes as Israeli occupation forces launch their fiercest most wide-scale aggression on the West Bank in recent years, killing more than 20 Palestinians and destroying public infrastructure in several cities.
It is worth noting that in July the International Court of Justice (ICJ) declared "Israel's" decades-long occupation of Palestinian territories unlawful and demanded the evacuation of all settlements in the West Bank and East al-Quds, as well as the withdrawal of Israeli authorities from the aforementioned areas, as soon as possible.
Read more: ICJ: 'Israel' is an occupation power violating international law
