RAMALLAH/ Qais Abu Samra/ Anadolu

More than 100 settlers attacked on Friday the outskirts of the town of Sinjil, north of Ramallah city in the central occupied West Bank, while residents and popular protection committees confronted them.

Mayor of Sinjil Moataz Tawafsha told Anadolu that "more than 100 settlers attacked the outskirts of the town, opened fire towards residents and activists, and burned agricultural crops".

He added that the settlers "tried to infiltrate into the town, but residents and protection committees confronted them to prevent them from attacking the residents".

Tawafsha pointed out that Israeli army forces "simultaneously tightened the siege on the town and closed its entrances in conjunction with the settlers' attack".

He said that what happened in the town "is part of the settlers' terrorism series against it", stressing that residents and protection committees "continue to confront the settlers to prevent them from storming the town and attacking its residents".

According to a report issued by the Wall and Settlement Resistance Commission on July 6, settlers committed 3,488 attacks during the first half of this year, including attacking Palestinian villages, burning homes, opening fire, seizing land, and establishing settlement outposts, resulting in the killing of 17 Palestinians.

About 750,000 settlers live in 141 settlements and 224 outposts in the West Bank, including 250,000 in East Jerusalem.

Palestinian authorities and human rights organizations accuse the settlers of carrying out daily attacks aimed at displacing Palestinians and seizing more land.

The West Bank has witnessed an escalation in attacks by the Israeli army and settlers since October 2023, which, according to official Palestinian data, has resulted in the killing of 1,181 Palestinians and the injury of about 13,000, in addition to the arrest of nearly 24,000 Palestinians.