Ankara: Illegal Israeli settlers attacked and damaged Palestinian properties in the occupied West Bank on Sunday, local sources said. The sources told Anadolu that a group of settlers stormed two houses in Hawara town, south of Nablus in the northern West Bank, and spray-painted threatening messages on walls. Two Palestinian vehicles were also burnt in the attack.

According to Anadolu Agency, a third car was burned by illegal Israeli settlers in the Al-Jaba town of Bethlehem in the southern West Bank. Another group of illegal settlers raided Turmus Aya town in northeastern Ramallah, attacking private property and stealing doors of houses under construction. In the town of Mukhmas, northeast of East Jerusalem, illegal settlers uprooted 40 olive trees.

Recently, a settlement outpost was established near the town, where illegal settlers gather and plan attacks targeting Palestinian farmers. On Thursday, the Palestinian Agriculture Ministry said the Israeli army and illegal settler attacks have destroyed over 8,000 olive trees in the occupied West Bank in one week, causing nearly $7 million in losses.

According to the Colonization and Wall Resistance Commission, an official body, illegal Israeli settlers carried out 621 attacks against Palestinians and property in the occupied West Bank in November. The number of Israeli settlers in the West Bank reached about 770,000 in more than 180 settlements and 256 settlement outposts by the end of 2024, official Palestinian data showed.

In a landmark opinion last July, the International Court of Justice declared Israel's occupation of Palestinian territory illegal and called for the evacuation of all settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem.