The Israeli army has continued to raid the town of Bruqin in the occupied West Bank in search of a gunman who killed a settler on Wednesday, even as other settlers carry out attacks in towns and cities across the territory.
For the third consecutive day on Friday, Bruqin faced a massive incursion by the Israeli army, which occupied four buildings and converted them into military barracks.
Mayor Fayed Sabra told Middle East Eye that the Israeli army brought 13 bulldozers to the town on Thursday morning and was continuing to level open areas adjacent to homes, claiming they were being converted into military zones.
The bulldozing operations have so far covered 264 dunams (26.4 hectares), while settlers attacked homes, smashing windows and torching a bulldozer belonging to one of the residents.
“More than 2,000 settlers gathered on the lands bulldozed by the Israeli army, setting fires and burning the Palestinian flag amid racist chants. They remained gathered until 3am [12am GMT] on Friday, and we expect them to intensify their attacks in the coming days,” he said.
The town remains under siege after its four entrances were closed, with barriers erected since Wednesday evening.
“With great difficulty, we were able to bring in 500kg of bread for the residents this morning,” said Sabra.
“Two patients needed to be taken to the hospital yesterday, and ambulances were delayed for hours before they were allowed to be transported out of the town.”
The neighbouring town of Kafr al-Dik also saw similar raids and arrests. Soldiers also turned several homes into interrogation centres, while property was deliberately vandalised.
Burning vehicles
The West Bank has in recent days seen widespread attacks by settler groups in several areas, concentrated near Nablus, Salfit and Ramallah.
The attacks have taken place amid a marked tightening of military barriers deployed between West Bank cities, obstructing the movement of Palestinian vehicles.
Settlers intensified their attacks on Palestinian property, setting fire to vehicles belonging to Palestinian workers parked near the settlement of Ariel.
Two vehicles were also set on fire in the Masoudiya area near Nablus, one of which belonged to the guard of an artesian well that supplies eight villages near the city.
‘They have succeeded in displacing families from their lands in recent months, and now they are creeping towards the town like a cancer’
–Â Rabie Abu Naim, village resident
In Ein Qiniya, north of Ramallah, settlers vandalised two residents’ vehicles after infiltrating the village, which has been the target of attempts to seize a water spring for two years.
The village of al-Mughayyir, east of Ramallah, witnessed an attack by settlers on women in al-Khalayel area, carried out under the protection of the Israeli army.
Rabie Abu Naim, a resident of the village, told MEE that his 31-year-old sister, Fatima, and a number of other women had gone to the area to pick grape leaves when they were attacked by a group of settlers on ATVs and motorcycles.
The settlers began pushing the women, hurling insults and provoking them. One of them tried to harass the group, hitting Fatima in the stomach. When she pushed him away, an Israeli soldier arrived and arrested her.
“The town’s residents immediately headed to the area to prevent my sister’s arrest. During that, soldiers opened fire at them, wounding a 15-year-old boy in the waist. They also fired tear gas to disperse the crowd,” Abu Naim added.
Fatima was detained at the Binyamin police station near Ramallah until 3am on Friday, where she was placed in an area accessible to settlers and exposed to the risk of attack at any moment, before being released.
According to Abu Naim, the attack also targeted foreign activists who were accompanying the women. One activist was beaten, and tear gas and sound bombs were fired at the group.
“This area is constantly subjected to attacks by settlers coming from a settlement outpost they recently established on the town’s lands,” he said.Â
“They have succeeded in displacing families from their lands in recent months, and now they are creeping towards the town like a cancer.”
