NABLUS, (WAFA) – ‘Settlers from the hard-line settlement of Yitzhar, near Nablus, Tuesday attacked the village of Assira al-Qiblieh, south of Nablus, and stoned Palestinians houses, according to a local activist.
Ghassan Douglas, in charge of settlements file in the Palestinian Authority in the northern part of the West Bank, said that settlers have stationed themselves near the village in a provocative.
Later reports said settlers clashed with residents, causing injury to some people, including a WAFA photographer.
Settlers said they were planning demonstrations on Tuesday from Yitzhar to Hawara Israeli military camp, just outside the southern entrance to Nablus, to protest the Palestinian move to get United Nations membership.
The PA indicated that settlers have recently escalated their attacks against Palestinian villages and property, mentioning an attack on the villages of Ainabous, during which settlers burnt crops, and in Deir Estia, where they cut more that 500 olive trees, along with 40 other attacks against Palestinians documented during last month.
Ghasan Khatib, director of the Media Center, warned of the dangerous escalation by the Jewish settlers especially in light of the Palestinian bid to the United Nations, saying “settlers provoke Palestinians which could lead to a cycle of violence.”
He said, “Israel cannot possibly keep warning the world against so called Palestinian wave of violence while the only violence being practiced is done by the occupation and settlers.”