Israeli army tightens retaliatory measures on Huwara as settlers continue their attacks
Jerusalem24 – Five Palestinians were injured and several vehicles torched by Israeli settlers when they attacked the town of Huwara south of Nablus in the occupied West Bank yesterday evening.
Four of the injured were beaten and sprayed with pepper spray and treated at Huwara Medical Center and a fifth was hospitalized at Rafidia Government Hospital for a head injury, according to the Ministry of Health.
The settlers also attacked a Red Crescent ambulance and shattered its windshield and side windows while transferring the injured.
Ahmad Jibril, the head of the Red Crescent Society in Nablus, said that the settlers also tried to prevent a PRCS ambulance from getting to Huwara, in addition to Israeli soldiers obstructing the work of the medical crews and preventing them from transferring an injured Palestinian.
The secretary of the Fatah movement in Huwara, Kamal Odeh, said that an additional 30 residents suffered from tear gas inhalation and that Israeli soldiers detained a total of 12 Palestinians before releasing three of them.
The Israeli Police, however, said they arrested two Palestinians and four settlers for “disorderly conduct”.
“The Israeli soldiers assaulted the residents just before Iftar time, then settlers attacked the shops and homes along the Huwara main street,” Odeh said. “The settlers and residents physically clashed and also used bats, but the Israeli army protected the settlers.”
Settlers have been stepping up attacks and the Israeli army has been tightening measures against the people of Huwara, after a passing vehicle shot at a group of soldiers stationed near the Huwara checkpoint on Saturday, injuring two.
Since then, the Israeli army has blocked roads and forced shop owners to close, incurring severe losses for them during the usually busy holy month of Ramadan.
Daily settler attacks
In the nearby village of Asira Al-Qibaliya, around two hours after the Huwara attack and during the evening Isha prayer, dozens of settlers attacked the village and invaded a house before clashes broke out between the settlers and the residents, with the Israeli army intervening to protect the settlers.
The head of Asira Al-Qibliya village council, Hafez Saleh, told The New Arab that “more than 30 settlers from the illegal settlement of Yitzhar attacked a house belonging to Ahmed Saleh, beat the house owners, and damaged the contents of the house before the residents intervened.”
Israeli settlers also attacked a Tulkarem Government Hospital vehicle and smashed its windows. According to the Ministry of Health, the vehicle was urgently transporting laboratory samples and medicines when it was attacked as it passed the town of Beita near Nablus on Monday evening.
