Both Israeli soldiers and settlers continued their violations against the Palestinian people and their property well into Saturday, this week, with the most recent assaults and abductions occurring in the districts of Jenin, Hebron and Bethlehem.Israeli forces kidnapped two people, Saturday, from Maythalun and Burqin in the southwest of Jenin, in addition to summoning three others from the Hebron area, according to reports by a local security source.
Soldiers also invaded Burqin, where they carried out a large-scale search campaign, WAFA reports, sparking clashes with the residents. Forces kidnapped one 17-year-old and damaged a vehicle parked near a local church.
Late Friday evening, soldiers stationed at Zaʻtara checkpoint abducted a 24-year-old student at the Arab American University in Jenin.
Meanwhile, to the west of Hebron, forces stormed the village of Tarqumia, where they served three people with notices to appear before Israeli intelligence after breaking into, searching and wreaking havoc on their houses.
Checkpoints were set up in several neighborhoods in Hebron city, as well as at the entrances of Saʻir, Dura and Halhul, where they stopped Palestinian vehicles travelling along the roads and examined passengers’ ID cards.
Near the village of Nahlin, to the west of Bethlehem, on Saturday, Israeli settlers attacked Palestinian cars, according to a security source who told WAFA that a group of settlers from Beitar Illit threw stones at Palestinian vehicles driving by, causing damage to the cars. No injuries were reported.
Settler attacks against villagers and their property have escalated in recent days, as they pump waste water onto Palestinian-owned land, uproot trees and attempts to seize residents’ land.
Earlier this week, on Thursday, members of a Palestinian family Thursday suffered the effects of tear gas fired at them by Israeli soldiers in Taqouʻ, just east of Bethlehem, according to a local security source.
Forces also stormed al-ʻAmur, al-Sabbah, al-Baladiya and Maydan al-Wazir neighborhoods in Taqouʻ, where they hurled stun grenades and tear gas canisters at residents, sowing panic among them, WAFA went on to say.
A family comprising seven members, including children, endured suffocation after Israeli soldiers fired a tear gas canister into their home.
More than 500,000 Israelis live in illegal settlements across the West Bank and East Jerusalem, in direct contravention of international law and with full complicity of Western governments, in the form of billions in foreign aid and weapons, each year.
