Israeli settlers destroyed the only water supply line serving a Palestinian village in the occupied West Bank on Monday, cutting off access to water for residents amid ongoing settlement expansion work, according to local sources.
The sources told Anadolu that the occupiers bulldozed Palestinian land and destroyed the main and only water pipeline supplying um Safa village, northwest of Ramallah, while paving a new settlement road near the area.
The attack left the village without running water, the sources said.
um Safa has witnessed escalating assaults by Israeli occupiers operating from surrounding illegal settlements and outposts, increasingly preventing Palestinians from accessing their farmland.
The occupied West Bank has seen a surge in attacks by Israeli occupiers and the Israeli army targeting Palestinian agricultural land, including arson attacks, bulldozing operations and restrictions on farmers’ access to their property, particularly near illegal settlements and outposts.
On Sunday, Israeli occupiers torched vehicles and attacked a mosque in the occupied West Bank as Israeli army raids continued across Palestinian towns and villages.
In the village of Deir Abu Mashal, northwest of Ramallah, occupiers attacked Palestinian residents while they were heading to agricultural lands south of the village.
A local source told Anadolu that the occupiers hurled stones at Palestinians, triggering confrontations before Israeli forces stormed the area to protect the occupiers. No injuries or arrests were reported.
In another attack in Deir Dibwan, east of Ramallah, occupiers set fire to two vehicles and vandalized two others near the town’s western entrance.
Israel’s Yedioth Ahronoth daily reported Monday that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government plans to allocate 5,5 million shekels ($1,89 million) from the state budget to fund the extremist occupier group Hilltop Youth.
The group, whose members mainly live in illegal settlement outposts across the occupied West Bank, has carried out repeated attacks against Palestinians and is considered the ideological nucleus of the extremist “Price Tag” movement.
Since October 8, 2023, the Israeli army and occupiers have killed at least 1 169 Palestinians, wounded 12 666 others, arrested about 23 000 and displaced 33 000, according to official Palestinian figures. – AA