Israeli settlers descend on Hawara, injuring six Palestinians

A business in the Palestinian village of Hawara is seen with its windows shattered following stone throwing by Israeli settlers on 27 March 2023

Hagar Shezaf and Jack Khoury report in Haaretz on 27 March 2023:

Six Palestinians were injured by Israeli settler violence on Monday in the village of Hawara, the site of last month’s settler rampage that killed one and injured hundreds, the Palestinian Health Ministry says.  The Palestinian Red Crescent says settlers stoned Palestinian vehicles including an emergency services vehicle that arrived at the scene to treat the wounded. A fire truck was also reportedly burned by settlers.

The Israel Police confirmed that they had arrested four Israelis and two Palestinians for disorderly conduct associated with the incident.

The head of the Hawara Council, Mo’en Damidi, told Haaretz that “The settlers went down to Hawara with army protection and with the Israel Police present. They began attacking houses and an 62-year-old man who they wounded in the head and was then taken to Rafidiya hospital in Nablus. Residents who went out to defend themselves were attacked by the army and arrested. I went to them [the police] and said, ‘What are the settlers doing in the center of the village? They are the ones causing problems.’ One of the soldiers hit me and threw a stun grenade at me. The settlers burned cars and one shot toward a house. Three cars were burned and houses were broken into.”

An Israeli security official confirmed there had been violence in Hawara, telling Haaretz that several dozen settlers threw stones at Palestinian cars in the village, set a truck on fire and that Palestinians threw stones back.  According to security forces and Damidi, the settlers have been removed from the village.

In March, following a Palestinian shooting that killed two Israelis, hundreds of settlers entered Hawara and began throwing rocks at houses and setting houses, trees and cars in the village on fire. Seventy homes were affected; some were damaged or destroyed by fire, others looted or damaged in other ways and 90 cars were torched. The rioters injured dozens of Palestinians with rocks and iron rods and one man, 37-year-old Sameh Aqtash was killed by gun shot wounds to the stomach.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called on the settlers “not to take the law into your hands” in an announcement later that night, with Defense Minister Yoav Gallant echoing the sentiment.

Days later, Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich called for the destruction of the village, saying it “needs to be wiped out.”

This article is reproduced in its entirety