extremist settlers attacked the towns of Beita, Burin, Jurish, and Aqraba, south of Nablus, attacking homes and farms, stealing sheep, and cutting down dozens of olive trees, according to the Palestinian News Agency, WAFA.
In the town of Burin, a group of settlers attacked the town's lands and proceeded to cut down dozens of olive trees belonging to the Sufan family on the outskirts of the town. They then attacked the family's home, throwing stones at it, and erected a tent in its vicinity.
In the towns of Jurish and Aqraba, settlers stole sheep from Palestinian pens and pastures at gunpoint. In the town of Beita, settlers injured three Palestinians after assaulting them during an attempt to storm a house near Jabal Sabih and set it on fire.
Israeli occupation forces later stormed the town, firing live ammunition, tear gas, and sound bombs, causing eight Palestinians to suffocate from tear gas inhalation.
Palestinian reports indicate that the number of settlers in the West Bank reached approximately 770,000 by the end of 2024, distributed across 180 settlements and 256 outposts, 138 of which are classified as pastoral and agricultural.
Meanwhile, 30 Palestinian families were forcibly displaced from the Arab al-Malihat community northwest of Jericho following an escalation in settler attacks against them, including the denial of their access to water sources and pastures, under the protection of Israeli occupation forces.
A female resident told WAFA that the families were forced to leave at gunpoint, while settlers set up tents and a settlement outpost a few meters from the residents' homes.
In turn, Hassan Malihat, general supervisor of the Al-Baidar Organization for the Defense of Bedouin Rights, warned that "what is happening in Arab Malihat portends a recurrence of the forced displacement scenario in other areas of the Jordan Valley and the West Bank," noting that the settlement outposts have become centers of daily terror against the population.
In parallel with the genocide in the Gaza Strip, the Israeli occupation army and settlers have escalated their attacks in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, resulting in the deaths of at least 989 Palestinians and the injury of approximately 7,000 others, according to Palestinian data.
In the southern West Bank city of Hebron, the occupation army raided a mourning tent on Thursday evening. The tent was set up by the family of Mahdi Shawer, a freed prisoner deported to Gaza who was martyred in an Israeli airstrike on the Strip this morning.
The occupation forces prevented the mourners from holding a funeral and forced them to leave the site. The family apologized for not receiving them and invited them to offer their condolences via phone calls and social media.
Earlier Thursday, Hamas's Prisoners' Media Office announced in a statement that an Israeli airstrike targeted three released deportees to Gaza—Mahdi Shawer, Ayman Abu Daoud, and Bassam Abu Sneineh—leading to their deaths.
He explained that Shawer and Abu Sneineh were deported to the Gaza Strip following their release as part of the Wafa al-Ahrar deal in 2011, while Abu Daoud, also one of those released in the deal, was deported to Gaza in 2013 after going on a hunger strike.
In 2011, Israel released 1,027 Palestinian prisoners as part of an Egyptian-brokered exchange deal with Hamas in exchange for the release of Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit. It then deported a number of the released prisoners to Gaza.
In May 2013, an agreement was reached to deport him to the Gaza Strip for ten years, enabling him to leave prison once again.
Since October 7, 2023, Israel has been waging a war of genocide in Gaza, including killing, starvation, destruction, and forced displacement, ignoring all international calls and orders from the International Court of Justice to halt it.
The genocide, backed by the United States, left more than 192,000 Palestinians dead or wounded, most of them children and women, and more than 11,000 missing. Hundreds of thousands were displaced, and a famine claimed the lives of many, including dozens of children.
