Palestinian leadership demands international protection amid West Bank settler assaults

Palestinians wait after Israeli soldiers prevented them on Saturday from returning to their homes and lands in the village of Qabalan, south of Nablus. (AFP)

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Updated 04 July 2026 22:24

WAFA

July 04, 2026 21:03

RAMALLAH: Organized terrorism carried out by settler gangs against Palestinian settlements in Jenin, Nablus, Jerusalem, and Hebron in the West Bank is a dangerous escalation of violence, according to the Palestinian leadership.

Presidential spokesperson Nabil Abu Rudeineh said the attacks had included assaults on homes and residents, the burning of agricultural land, the uprooting and destruction of olive trees, damage to private property, and the seizure of water sources.

He said the escalation — carried out with the direct protection and support of the Israeli army, which continues its daily policy of killing in the Gaza Strip — necessitates immediate international intervention to provide international protection for the Palestinian people before the situation spirals out of control.

Abu Rudeineh said: “We call upon the international community, particularly the US administration, to take concrete steps to compel the occupying power to abide by international law and UN resolutions, and to cease its ongoing crimes, whether committed by the occupation army or by terrorist colonists.”

Abu Rudeineh holds the Israeli government responsible for the deteriorating situation, and argues that the settler attacks are inseparable from what he described as the ongoing genocide and forced displacement in Gaza, aimed at undermining the Palestinian national project and imposing a colonial reality in violation of international law and UN Security Council Resolution 2334.

He warned that the region, which is facing a dangerous historic turning point due to the continuation of war and chaos resulting from the occupation’s policies and its failure to adhere to Arab, international, and legal legitimacy, will remain on the brink of disaster.

The statement came as local officials said three Palestinians were injured by rubber-coated metal bullets on Saturday after Israeli forces intervened during an attack by Israeli colonists on the village of Umm Safa, northwest of Ramallah.

Marwan Sabbah, head of the Umm Safa Village Council, told the Palestine News Agency that Israeli colonists entered the outskirts of the village and stole four sheep before residents confronted them.

He said Israeli forces then arrived at the scene and fired rubber-coated metal bullets at residents, injuring three people.

Sabbah warned that Umm Safa was facing a systematic campaign of forced displacement, noting that the village had become surrounded by Israeli outposts and that residents were unable to access their agricultural land because of repeated colonist attacks.

Areas northwest of Ramallah have witnessed a sustained increase in attacks by Israeli colonists, which have included land leveling, land seizures, and assaults on Palestinians and their property, often under the protection of Israeli forces.

Also on Saturday, two Palestinians were injured in an attack carried out by Israeli settlers in the Khalayel Al-Loz area, southeast of Bethlehem.

The Palestine Red Crescent Society said its crews treated two people who had been sprayed with pepper spray by Israeli colonists. The victims were then transferred to hospital for further treatment.

Israeli settlers, under the protection of Israeli forces, also attacked Khirbet Al-Homs, south of Yatta, in the southern West Bank, on Saturday.

A WAFA correspondent reported that dozens of settlers attacked Khirbet Al-Homs and assaulted the Abed Al-Masri family, leaving two Palestinians with bruises and others suffering from the effects of tear gas inhalation.

He added that Israeli forces detained local resident Samir Abed, who was injured during the attack, as well as several international solidarity activists who were supporting residents in the area.

Topics:War on GazaPalestineGazaUSA