At dawn on Thursday, Israeli soldiers and illegal paramilitary colonizers invaded the town of Silwad, east of Ramallah in the occupied West Bank’s central part, resulting in the death of a Palestinian man following a series of violations by the colonizers, who torched homes and cars.
Media sources stated that a large group of paramilitary colonizers stormed Silwad, torching homes and vehicles.
Shortly after, Israeli soldiers invaded the town and fired live ammunition at Palestinians who attempted to confront the assailants.
Medical sources identified the slain Palestinian as Khamis Abdul-Latif Ayyad, 45, a married father of several children.
The sources confirmed that Ayyad died from severe smoke inhalation while attempting to extinguish fires set by paramilitary settlers targeting civilian vehicles.
Ayyad, a Palestinian-American, had returned to Palestine for the summer. Just days before his death, his eldest daughter had celebrated her engagement.
Khamis is the uncle of Anas Bassam Hammad, 21, whom Israeli soldiers killed in early December 2015.
Media sources reported that paramilitary colonizers set fire to twelve vehicles in a coordinated rampage, seven of which belonged to citizen Lutfi Hamed and his sons, Nimir, Mousa, Ammar, Adham, and Mohammad.
Three additional vehicles also owned by the Hamed family were targeted, along with two vehicles belonging to Samer Mustafa Yousef. The blaze extended to the facade of the Hamed family’s home.
During the colonizers’ assault on Silwad, the Israeli military sealed off the eastern gate of the town, further tightening its grip in coordination with the settlers.
In the village of Ramon, colonizers torched three vehicles and a bulldozer belonging to Mohammad Kahla, Hassan Kahla, Hassan Al-Kafara, and Mohannad Al-Kafara. They also defaced the walls of the latter’s home with racist graffiti.
In Abu Falah, another group of colonizers burned a vehicle owned by citizen Wahib Hamayel, similarly vandalizing his home with hate-filled slogans.
In the town of Al-Mughayyir, occupation forces invaded many homes and abducted a young man, Mohammad Abu Aliya, after ransacking his family residence. They also assaulted 27-year-old Hussein Saqer Abu Aliya, striking him in the head.
Since the beginning of the year, colonizers have perpetrated 2,153 attacks, resulting in the killing of four Palestinians.
These acts of violence ranged from assaults on villages and civilians, setting homes ablaze while occupants were inside, live fire, establishment of an illegal colonialist outposts, land seizures, and relentless attacks on roads and vehicles.
The highest concentration of these attacks occurred in the governorates of Ramallah (491), Hebron (409), and Nablus (396).
Earlier this week, on Monday, Israeli forces shot and killed another young Palestinian man at the northern entrance of Hebron, in the southern West Bank. Witnesses say he was denied medical assistance before succumbing to his wounds.
The Palestinian Health Ministry announced that Israeli soldiers executed the young man, Mohammad Samer Suleiman al-Jamal, 27, after shooting him with live ammunition at the northern entrance to Hebron city.
Also, an illegal Israeli colonizer shot and killed 31-year-old Awdeh Muhammad Khalil al-Hathalin, 31, in the village of Umm al-Khair in the Masafer Yatta area, south of Hebron in the southern occupied West Bank.
Since the beginning of the year, Israeli forces and colonizers have killed 191 Palestinian citizens, in the occupied West Bank, including 37 children and 6 women.
Occupation forces have killed 65 Palestinians in Jenin, 33 in Nablus, 27 in Tubas, 17 in Tulkarem, 15 in Hebron, 12 in Ramallah, 9 in Bethlehem, 5 in Jerusalem, 4 in Qalqilia, 3 in Salfit, and 1 in Jericho.
Since October 7, 2023, Israeli soldiers and paramilitary colonizers have killed 1,026 Palestinians, including 210 children, 22 women, 1 journalist and 2 medics, in the West Bank. The corpses of 252 slain Palestinians remain held by Israel.
