Israeli settlers have launched a series of attacks across the occupied West Bank, seizing or destroying Palestinian homes and damaging critical infrastructure, including water springs, electricity lines, and greenhouses. The assaults and land seizures have intensified in recent weeks, according to Palestinian sources.

On Friday, settlers damaged the main electricity line supplying the village of al-Maniya, southeast of Bethlehem, the Palestinian Wafa news agency reported, citing security sources. This was the second such incident in the village this week, causing fear and panic among residents.

Hours later, settlers vandalized agricultural greenhouses near the Shufa military checkpoint southeast of Tulkarem. Witnesses told Wafa that settlers tore the protective nets, damaging facilities owned by a family from the village of Shufa.

Also on Friday, settlers seized control of the Ein Rawabi spring northeast of Jerusalem after vandalizing the site. The Jerusalem Governorate stated that the spring is the only water source for local shepherds and their livestock of about 1,300 sheep, warning that the seizure threatens the livelihoods of dozens of Bedouin families.

In Jalud village, settlers seized the property of Mohammad Salameh while he was building a home for his recently engaged son, Reuters reported. Salameh said appeals to Israeli authorities were futile. He fears his Palestinian neighbors will face the same fate as they become increasingly surrounded by illegal settlements.

“If there is law and order, then they [Israeli settlers] will leave,” Salameh told Reuters. “But if they succeed in taking one, then the rest will follow.”

A United Nations inquiry last month reported that Israeli settler attacks on Palestinian villages and agricultural land surged by 130% since 2023.

Source: www.aljazeera.com