A young Palestinian man was martyred on Wednesday evening, succumbing to injuries sustained from live ammunition fired by settlers during their attack on the town of Deir Dibwan, east of Ramallah in the occupied West Bank.
Medical sources at the Palestine Medical Complex confirmed the death of the young man, Awda Atef Awda Awawda (29 years old), shortly after he arrived with a gunshot wound to the back, as a result of settlers firing live ammunition at citizens in the town.
The sources added that the occupation forces closed the entrance to the town of Deir Dibwan in conjunction with the attack, and later stormed it, and carried out an arrest campaign that targeted 30 Palestinians.
Earlier on Wednesday, the occupation forces attacked participants in the funeral procession of two martyrs in the village of Al-Mughayyir, northeast of Ramallah, before the residents confronted them and were able to complete the funeral in large numbers.
Local sources reported that the occupation forces fired live ammunition, sound bombs and tear gas at the funeral procession of the martyred child Aws Hamdi Al-Naasan (14 years old) and the young man Jihad Marzouq Abu Naim (32 years old), who were martyred during the settlers’ attack on the Al-Mughayir Boys School on Tuesday afternoon.
In Jenin, settlers stormed the site of the evacuated “Kedim” settlement near the eastern neighborhood of the city, under the protection of the occupation army.
The occupation army tightened its military measures at the entrances to several towns in the Jenin governorate, under the pretext of securing a march for settlers between 11:00 AM and 4:00 PM, between the cities of Jenin and Nablus.
Local sources reported that the occupation forces deployed their vehicles and infantry units at the entrances to the towns of Arraba, Ajja and Jaba, and around the settlement of Tarsala, as part of these measures.
In the Bethlehem Governorate, settlers, under the protection of the Israeli occupation army, stormed the Solomon's Pools area located between the town of Al-Khader and the village of Artas to the south.
Local sources reported that settlers were stationed between the second and third pools, amid a complete closure of the area, the erection of a military checkpoint, and the prevention of vehicles from passing through.
In Nablus, settlers attacked the village of Beit Imrin, north of the city, burning two vehicles and attempting to set fire to a house.
Local sources said that a group of settlers came from the colonial outpost established on the village’s land, stormed its outskirts and burned two vehicles, while the citizens’ resistance prevented them from burning a house.
The Palestinian Red Crescent Society explained that its crews dealt with seven cases of suffocation, including an infant who was not more than a year old, in addition to a first-degree burn injury resulting from the fire.
Settlers also cut down dozens of olive trees in the village of Al-Lubban Al-Sharqiya, south of Nablus.
Local sources reported that settlers cut down more than 150 olive trees in the “Al-Khan” and “Wadi Ali” areas, southeast of the village.
It is noted that for the past three days, Al-Lubban Al-Sharqiya has been subjected to a campaign of uprooting fruit trees and bulldozing 34 dunams of its agricultural land in the Al-Sahl area, where more than 500 fruit-bearing olive and almond trees have been uprooted.
In Hebron, a scene that encapsulates the extent of daily suffering was the Education Directorate in the town of Yatta holding a mock exam for students of the “Umm al-Khair” school in the open air, after they were deprived of their most basic right to access their schools.
Images shared by activists showed students sitting on the ground, while settlers positioned themselves near them in provocative behavior, even going so far as to sit in front of them and prepare coffee, in a clear attempt to disrupt their concentration and break their will.
For the past ten days, 55 students from the village of Umm al-Khair have been living a harsh reality after Israeli occupation forces blocked their access to their schools in the al-Saraya area with barbed wire, in flagrant violation of their fundamental right to education. This educational blockade has forced educational authorities to resort to makeshift solutions to ensure the continuation of the educational process despite all obstacles.
In occupied Jerusalem, the Al-Aqsa Mosque witnessed large-scale mass incursions by settlers, during which Talmudic rituals were performed, singing and mass prostrations were carried out inside its courtyards, coinciding with what is called “Israel’s Independence Day”.
Sources in Jerusalem indicated that 508 settlers stormed Al-Aqsa Mosque.
According to the Jerusalem Governorate, groups of settlers conducted provocative tours within the mosque compound, performing rituals near the Gate of Mercy and the Dome of the Rock, and receiving explanations about the alleged “Temple,” before leaving through the Chain Gate. The Governorate also documented the performance of what is known as “epic prostration” at several locations within the compound.
This coincided with the continuation of Israeli restrictions on the entry of worshippers, including the confiscation of identity cards and subjecting visitors to thorough searches at the mosque gates, thus restricting movement within the compound. Local sources also indicated that occupation forces arrested five women inside the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound during the settlers' incursion.
In a related context, the Jerusalem International Foundation issued a report monitoring the escalation of incursions during recent years, noting a significant increase in the number of intruders, which peaked in 2022 with hundreds of incursions recorded, and continued at high levels in subsequent years.
