Illegal paramilitary Israeli colonizers invaded several areas southeast of Bethlehem on Wednesday, carrying out provocations against Palestinian residents under the protection of Israeli occupation forces.
Media sources said groups of colonizers entered the areas of Khalayel al‑Louz, al‑Obeyyat, Hindaza, and Bir al‑Mayyah, where they roamed near homes and agricultural lands and attempted to provoke residents.
The sources added that the colonizers moved through the area in groups while soldiers remained deployed nearby, preventing Palestinians from approaching their own land as the colonizers continued their activities.
During the invasion, an Israeli military drone was seen hovering over the village as the colonizers advanced toward Palestinian lands.
Residents reported that the colonizers’ presence caused fear among families, particularly in communities that have been repeatedly targeted in recent weeks.
The southeastern Bethlehem region has witnessed a sharp escalation in colonizer attacks in recent weeks.
Residents said colonizer groups have set up tents, assaulted Palestinians, and caused injuries during repeated incursions aimed at asserting control over the area.
These attacks, carried out under full military protection, have increased concerns among local communities about ongoing attempts to pressure Palestinians to leave their land.
In related news, Israeli colonizers attacked the Tibna Bedouin community near Khan al‑Ahmar, east of occupied Jerusalem, on Wednesday, assaulting residents under the protection of Israeli occupation forces.
Also, colonizers attacked the town of Sinjil and the nearby village of Jaljulia, north of Ramallah in the occupied West Bank’s central part, assaulting Palestinian shepherds and stealing their livestock.
Before dawn Wednesday, thousands of Israeli colonizers, accompanied by large numbers of occupation soldiers and government officials, invaded the Joseph’s Tomb area east of Nablus in the northern occupied West Bank.
These attacks come amid a broader escalation of colonizer violence across the occupied West Bank, where armed colonizer groups, often accompanied by Israeli officials and protected by the army, continue to target Palestinian communities with increasing frequency.
All of Israel’s colonies in the occupied West Bank, including those in and around occupied East Jerusalem, are illegal under International Law, the Fourth Geneva Convention in addition to various United Nations and Security Council resolutions. They also constitute war crimes under International Law.
Article 33 of the Fourth Geneva Convention prohibits collective punishment and acts of terror against civilian populations.
Article 49 of the Fourth Geneva Convention states: “The Occupying Power shall not deport or transfer parts of its own civilian population into the territory it occupies.” It also prohibits the “individual or mass forcible transfers, as well as deportations of protected persons from occupied territory”.
Articles 53 and 147, prohibit the destruction of civilian property and classify pillage as a war crime.
