Mu'ayyad Shaaban, head of the Palestine Liberation Organization's Wall and Settlement Resistance Commission, said, "The Israeli occupation forces and their settlers have begun to deport the Arab al-Malihat community in Jericho (east), in violation of an Israeli court ruling."
In a statement, Shaaban described the move as "a clear violation of the Israeli court's decision allowing residents to live on their land," stressing that "settlers burned homes and property and assaulted residents in the area, as well as foreign activists."
Shaaban warned that "forcing families in the Arab al-Malihat community to flee for the second time in a month comes as part of a broader settlement plan implemented by the Israeli occupation government, led by (Finance Minister Bezalel) Smotrich and (National Security Minister Itamar) Ben-Gvir, to Judaize the area, as it is the main road between Jericho and the other governorates."
He stressed that "the families were forced to flee under pressure and intimidation by armed settlers, and with the protection of the occupation army, especially since attacks against the community have escalated significantly."
On Thursday, Palestinians rebuilt the community following an Israeli court ruling allowing them to return and live on their land. They were forcibly displaced on July 4 following a series of attacks carried out by settler gangs.
Thirty-eight Bedouin communities were displaced in the West Bank during the first six months of this year due to escalating attacks by Israeli settlers, according to official statistics.
Settler attacks
Meanwhile, Israeli settlers burned a vehicle belonging to foreign activists, along with furniture and water tanks, in the southern West Bank on Thursday evening.
The Palestinian News Agency (WAFA) quoted activist Osama Makhamreh as saying that a group of armed settlers from the Susya settlement, built on Palestinian land in the Masafer Yatta area south of Hebron (south), "burned a vehicle belonging to foreign activists, in addition to furniture and water tanks."
Makhamreh explained that the settlers sprayed an unknown gas inside a house where a number of foreign activists and members of the Palestinian Shreiteh family were staying. He did not provide any details about the activists or their nationalities.
He added that the settlers threw Molotov cocktails and stones at the home of Mohammed Mughnim, and that the residents were able to extinguish the fire before it spread inside and around the house, with no injuries reported.
German condemnation
In a related development, German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul visited the town of Taybeh, east of Ramallah in the central West Bank, on Friday. He was briefed on the attacks by Israeli settlers there, describing the attacks as "organized terrorism."
The Minister was received by Taybeh Mayor Suleiman Khoury, the town's church pastors, and some of the town's residents.
The Palestinian News Agency, WAFA, quoted the German minister as saying, "The settlers' attacks on the town of Taybeh and other areas are not unilateral acts. They constitute organized terrorism and crimes against citizens, and they must be monitored and stopped."
Vadephul added that there are reports that the Israeli army did not prevent these attacks or may have even participated in them, "which worries the German government."
Abbas discusses violations in the West Bank
In turn, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas discussed with Vadephul the latest developments in the Palestinian territories on Friday, particularly the catastrophic humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip and ongoing Israeli violations in the West Bank.
Abbas briefed the German minister on the extent of the suffering in the Gaza Strip as a result of the ongoing Israeli aggression and the accompanying systematic starvation of the population. He also pointed to the escalating attacks by the occupation army and settlers in the West Bank.
He stressed that an immediate and permanent ceasefire is a top priority, along with the urgent delivery of humanitarian aid to halt the famine, the release of Palestinian and Israeli prisoners, and the empowerment of the State of Palestine to assume its full responsibilities in the Gaza Strip, with Arab and international support, as part of a full Israeli withdrawal from the Strip.
Abbas called for a halt to settlement activity and annexation attempts, and for the release of withheld tax revenues, reaffirming his commitment to the two-state solution in accordance with international legitimacy resolutions and the Arab Peace Initiative, as stated at the New York Peace Conference.
The West Bank has witnessed an escalation in settler attacks for weeks, particularly east of Ramallah, which have included the burning of homes and vehicles, in addition to repeated attacks against Palestinians.
Coinciding with the war in Gaza, the Israeli occupation army and settlers killed at least 1,011 Palestinians in the West Bank, including occupied Jerusalem, injured nearly 7,000 others, and arrested more than 18,000, according to official data.
In the Gaza Strip, Israel has continued its genocide since October 7, 2023, resulting in approximately 208,000 deaths and injuries, most of them children and women, more than 9,000 missing, hundreds of thousands displaced, and a famine that has claimed the lives of many.
