Palestinian sources reported that settlers attacked a citizen and his child in the "Shweika" area, east of the town of Al-Dhahiriya, south of Hebron, resulting in their injury, along with a third Palestinian, without further details about the nature of the injuries.
The same sources pointed out that settlers confiscated a vehicle and a water tank and detained a woman in the Khallat al-Farra area, west of Yatta, south of Hebron, adding that other settlers carried out attacks on Palestinian lands in the Harmoush area, east of the town of Sa’ir, north of Hebron.
For its part, the Palestinian news agency WAFA reported that settlers attacked a Palestinian farmer while he was on his land in the Wadi Saif area of Beit Fajjar town in the Bethlehem Governorate, and seized his phone.
The agency noted that Israeli forces also attacked several citizens with stun grenades while they were picnicking in the Solomon's Pools area, located between the town of Al-Khader and the village of Artas, south of Bethlehem, in an attempt to force them to leave the place.
In a related incident, settlers set fire to a house near the entrance to the town of Al-Lubban Al-Sharqiya on the road linking Ramallah and Nablus.
Eyewitnesses reported that settlers prevented Palestinians from accessing the Al-Safra and Western areas located between the towns of Awarta and Jamma’in, south of Nablus, while a video circulating online showed settlers seizing land in the area.
Security Council session
In light of these attacks, the United Nations Security Council discussed on Friday the deteriorating situation in the West Bank and developments in the territories occupied by Israeli forces.
The meeting was held in the "Arria format" at the suggestion of the five members of the UN Security Council, Denmark, France, Greece, Latvia and the United Kingdom, to discuss developments in the situation in the West Bank, including occupied Jerusalem.
The meeting, which was held outside the formal framework due to a lack of consensus among member states, aimed to highlight the challenges faced by Palestinians in the West Bank, including Jerusalem.
Max Rodenbeck, director of the Israel-Palestine Project at the International Crisis Group, said the situation in the occupied West Bank is "appalling," explaining that the Israeli government has established 102 new settlements in the area over the past four years.
Rudenbeck noted that this figure is almost equivalent to the total number of settlements built during the past fifty years, accusing the Israeli government of implementing policies that severely weaken the Palestinian economy.
The "Arria-formula" sessions are informal meetings, and no decisions or statements are issued in the name of the council.
The West Bank, including occupied Jerusalem, is witnessing an escalation in Israeli military operations, including raids, arrests, shootings, and excessive use of force, in parallel with increasing attacks by settlers against Palestinians and their property.
Since October 2023, attacks by the Israeli occupation army and settlers have resulted in the martyrdom of at least 1,155 Palestinians, the injury of about 11,750 others, and the arrest of nearly 22,000, according to official Palestinian data.
