NABLUS, July 8, 2015 (WAFA) – Israeli settlers on Wednesday obstructed Palestinian workers and prevented them from resuming works on a road rehabilitation project near the village of Awarta to the south of Nablus, according to local sources.

Yousef Deriya, member of the Anti-Settlement Committee, said a group of settlers broke into the area and prevented municipality workers from carrying out rehabilitation work at Awarta-Yaun road.

The road, which is in a very bad shape, was shut down by the Israeli army in 2000 and  reopened in 2013.

Settlers have repeatedly committed acts of violence against Palestinian targets, including property arson, stone-throwing, uprooting of trees, obstruction of daily works, and others.

The Israeli human rights group B’Tselem says that Israeli forces do not always deploy in advance to protect Palestinians from settler violence, even when such violence could be anticipated. “In some cases, rather than restricting violent settlers, Israeli security forces impose restrictions on the Palestinians.”

“As the occupying power in the West Bank, Israel is obligated to maintain public order and ensure the safety of the Palestinians in the West Bank, who are classified a protected population in international law,” says B’Tselem.

A report published by the Israeli human rights organization of Yesh Din in May 2015 stated that, Israeli settlers enjoy widespread impunity for their attacks against Palestinians in the West Bank.

“The IDF and police are neither prepared nor willing to provide the necessary protection to Palestinians attacked by violent settlers,” it said.

 “The State’s ongoing failure to instate criminal accountability of violent settlers inadvertently empowers them and supports the continuation of their strategic brand of violence,” said the report.

M.N./T.R.