Illegal paramilitary Israeli colonizers carried out a large‑scale arson attack at dawn on Wednesday in the village of Urif, south of Nablus in the northern occupied West Bank, destroying heavy machinery, vehicles, and equipment at a local quarry in one of the most severe assaults on Palestinian economic infrastructure in recent weeks.
The Palestinian Civil Defense said its crews responded to extensive fires that engulfed three bulldozers, two cargo trucks, and five private vehicles belonging to local resident Essam Safadi at the “North Quarries and Crushers” site.
Firefighters worked for hours to contain the blaze amid continued threats from colonizer groups positioned around the area.
Local witnesses reported that dozens of colonizers stormed the quarry at first light, setting fire to multiple bulldozers (front‑end loaders) and vehicles before physically assaulting two workers.
The Palestinian Red Crescent Society (PRCS) confirmed two injuries resulting from the attack, noting that medical teams were initially obstructed from reaching the site due to the presence of armed colonizers.
The quarry, a major source of livelihood for dozens of families, has been repeatedly targeted over the past year.
Residents of Urif described the assault as coordinated and organized, consistent with a pattern of escalating attacks on Palestinian industrial zones, agricultural lands, and rural communities across the occupied West Bank.
The violence extended beyond Nablus on Wednesday. In the Ramallah district, a Palestinian farmer confronted colonizers who invaded his land in Wadi ‘Amr, south of the village of Al‑Mughayyer, and released their livestock onto his crops.
The farmer shouted at the colonizers as they attempted to seize control of the area, an increasingly common tactic used to force Palestinians off their agricultural land.
Human rights groups warn that these attacks form part of a broader strategy aimed at displacing Palestinian communities, damaging economic infrastructure, and expanding de facto control over rural areas.
The Wall & Colonization Resistance Commission has documented a sharp rise in arson, property destruction, and assaults carried out by colonizer groups operating under the protection of Israeli forces.
