Hundreds of Israeli settlers mobilize across Palestinian villages in the West Bank, eyewitnesses say
Hundreds of Israeli settlers are surrounding Palestinian towns and attacking residents across the occupied West Bank as of Saturday afternoon, eyewitnesses told CNN.
Videos obtained by CNN show settlers setting houses and cars ablaze in the village of Duma, southeast of Nablus. Footage shows heavy smoke engulfing the air as settlers fire gunshots in the area.
Eyewitnesses said settlers stormed people’s houses, resulting in clashes with Palestinians. In one video obtained by CNN from Duma, one man described the situation as a “street war.”
Videos on social media show clashes between Palestinians and settlers in the villages of Deir Dibwan and Beitin, east of Ramallah. Palestinians are seen lobbing rocks at the settlers, and Israeli military vehicles firing tear gas to disperse the crowds.
Videos obtained by CNN show increased Israeli military presence at a checkpoint near the town of Sinjil, northeast of Ramallah.
The Palestinian Red Crescent said in a statement Saturday that over a dozen Palestinians arrived at hospitals across the West Bank, most wounded by gunfire.
The latest attacks by settlers come a day after a large-scale attack in the village of Al-Mughayyir east of Ramallah, leaving one Palestinian man dead, following the search for a 14-year-old Israeli boy who went missing in a settlement nearby. The Israel Defense Forces announced Saturday that the boy, Binyamin Achimair, is dead.
It is unclear yet what was the cause of death, and the IDF is yet to provide evidence that this was a “terrorist attack.” CNN has reached out for clarity.
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