NABLUS, Friday, February 28, 2020 (WAFA) – Israeli settlers Thursday late night attacked Palestinian houses and stores in Huwwara town, south of Nablus, said local sources.

Sources confirmed that scores of settlers were provided by heavy military protection as they opened fire towards a number of Palestinian houses and stores in the town, smashing their windows.

Israeli forces opened fire on the villagers who attempted to fend off the settlers’ attack. No injuries were reported though.

Three days ago, Israeli bulldozers started razing Palestinian land near the village’s military checkpoint in preparation to build a settler-only bypass road, whose establishment would effectively seize over 400 dunams belonging to seven villages, south of Nablus.

Many Palestinian activists and rights groups have repeatedly blamed Israel for fostering a “culture of impunity” for Jewish settlers committing violent acts against Palestinians.

Settler violence against Palestinians and their property is routine in the West Bank and is rarely prosecuted by Israeli authorities. It includes property and mosque arsons, stone-throwing, uprooting of crops and olive trees, attacks on vulnerable homes, among others.

There are almost 834,000 Israeli settlers living in settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem.

The number of settlers has almost tripled since the Oslo Accords of 1993, when settlers’ number estimated 252,000. Illegal settlements have leapt from 144 to 515 in that time.

Israel’s nation-state law that passed last July stated that building and strengthening the settlements is a “national interest.”

K.F.