SALFIT, January 2, 2026 (WAFA) – More than 50 Israeli colonists attacked on Friday evening the northern area of the village of Farkha, southwest of Salfit, according to a local official.

The head of the Farkha Village Council, Mustafa Hammad, said the colonists stormed areas between citizens’ homes and opened live fire at village youths; however, no injuries were reported.

Israeli settlers’ vandalism in the occupied West Bank is routine and is done with full backing by the Israeli authorities, said the Israeli human rights group B’Tselem.

“Settler violence and vandalism take place with full backing by the Israeli authorities. Sometimes soldiers take part in the assault; at other times, they stand idly by. The police make no substantial effort to investigate the incidents, nor takes measures to prevent them or stop them in real-time,” it said.

Israel benefits from the repercussions, as settler violence has gradually dispossessed Palestinians of more and more areas in the West Bank, paving the way for a state takeover of land and resources, said B’Tselem.

Colonists’ violence against Palestinians and their properties has dramatically increased since the onset of Israeli aggression against the Palestinian people on October 7th, 2023.

The indiscriminate violence by Israeli colonists against Palestinian civilians and their properties has been widely condemned.

Several countries have imposed sanctions against Israeli colonists accused of committing acts of violence against the Palestinian people in the West Bank.

T.R.