On Tuesday, groups of illegal Israeli paramilitary colonizers conducted a series of coordinated violations against Palestinians and their property across the occupied West Bank, resulting in injuries, destruction, and further entrenchment of colonial control.
In the central West Bank, colonizers invaded the eastern outskirts of Um Safa village, northwest of Ramallah, initiating the construction of a new colonial road.
According to village council head Marwan Sabah, bulldozers operated by the colonizers began carving the road through Palestinian-owned land, leading to the complete isolation of the home of local resident Mohammad Al-‘Obeyyat.
Just two days earlier, the colonizers launched a violent attack on Al-‘Obeyyat’s home, attempting to assault him and damage his property.
Local residents intervened, forcing the attackers to retreat to a newly established outpost on Jabal Al-Ras.
Since October 7, 2023, Israeli occupation forces have sealed off both main entrances to Um Safa, east and west, forcing residents to navigate treacherous and lengthy detours.
One of the blocked routes serves approximately 20,000 people daily and connects to several neighboring villages.
In Deir Dibwan, east of Ramallah, the colonizers started preparing a new segregated road on Palestinian lands the town.
The area witnesses frequent Israeli violations and invasions, including the firing of live rounds and the assaults on the Palestinians and their properties.
In Hebron, in the southern West Bank, a Palestinian man and his son were injured after being assaulted by colonizers while inspecting their farmland in the Jales area near the illegal Israeli colony of Kiryat Arba.
Shaker Hamid Al-Zaru reported that he and his son Faraj were beaten, sustaining wounds to the head, limbs, and chest.
The family’s land, cultivated with olive and grape trees, has remained inaccessible for two years due to repeated attacks and death threats from colonizers operating under the protection of Israeli occupation forces.
Violent colonizer assaults have intensified across Jales and surrounding areas, particularly in Masafer Yatta and southern Hebron.
Also, the colonizers invaded Susya village, in Masafer Yatta, and hurled stones at the Palestinians and their homes, injuring a Palestinian woman in addition to causing damage to homes and cars.
In Nablus, in the northern West Bank, colonizers began setting up a new outpost on the western slope of Mount Qarqafa, facing the entrance to Aqraba town. Palestinian nonviolent activist Yousef Derieah confirmed that tents, caravans, and Israeli flags were erected on the site.
Additionally, colonizers invaded the archaeological site in Sebastia town, northwest of Nablus, under heavy military protection.
Mayor Mohammad Azem stated that Israeli forces closed the site and surrounding roads to Palestinian residents, enabling colonizers to roam freely.
Sebastia continues to face frequent invasions marked by provocations, forced shop closures, and military-backed settler harassment.
Recently, Israeli forces posted notices declaring parts of the town’s land as an “Israeli archaeological site,” further entrenching colonial control.
In related news, Israeli soldiers ordered the uprooting of dozens of olive trees in Beit Dajan village, east of Nablus.
Nasr Abu Jeish, the head of Beit Dajan Village Council, stated that he found a military order posted on his orchard ordering him to uproot his trees withing 24 hours.
“Even if the army uproots my trees, we will replant them,” he said, “We will not be intimidated by military orders or threats—and I will remain on the land I inherited from my father and grandfather.”
According to the Wall & Colonization Resistance Commission, July alone witnessed 466 documented colonizer attacks across the West Bank, resulting in the killing of four Palestinians and the forced displacement of two Bedouin communities comprising 50 families.
The report also noted attempts to establish 15 new colonial outposts, primarily agricultural and pastoral, including five in Hebron and others in Salfit, Bethlehem, Ramallah, Jericho, Tubas, and Jenin.
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 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”.
