Dozens of Israeli settlers raze homes and cars in overnight West Bank rampage

Home going up in flames in the West Bank village of Beit Furik 4 December 2024

Hagar Shezaf, Jack Khoury and Yael Freidson report in Haaretz on 4 December 2024:

Dozens of Israeli settlers set fire to houses and cars in two West Bank towns overnight into Wednesday after the army evacuated an illegal settler outpost.

After entering the villages of Beit Furik and Hawara, both near Nablus, settlers also attempted to enter the village of Beit Rujeib. They were stopped by Israel Defense Forces troops, who arrested eight of them.

The illegal West Bank outpost “Hill 617” was evacuated by the Civil Administration, Israel’s governing body in the West Bank, and Border Police forces earlier on Wednesday.

Following the incident, residents of Beit Furik clashed with Israeli army forces in the town, while settlers clashed with Border Police forces near the West Bank settlement of Itamar, wounding two officers after throwing stones at their car.

Residents of Hawara said that the settlers, some of whom were armed, came from the nearby settlement Yitzhar and threw Molotov cocktails and set a home and cars on fire belonging to one of the town’s families.

Israeli human rights organization Yesh Din said that settlers attacked the father of the family with stones and sticks, leading to his hospitalization. Hawara’s mayor said that the father suffered skull fractures. According to one security source, the security coordinator of the Yitzhar settlement was also attacked by the settlers, using clubs.

Naif Hanini, a resident of Beit Furik, said that the house lit on fire belongs to his son and that the car belongs to his cousin, who parks there to hide it from settlers residing in nearby settlements. “They want to kick us out of here, but nothing will move us,” Hanini said.

A Palestinian woman inspects her damaged house after an attack by Israeli settlers on Huwara, ocupied West Bank, on 4 December 2024

Hanini’s neighbor, Um Ahsan Damidi, added that one of the residents of the home tried to fend off settlers when they arrived, so they threw a Molotov cocktail through the window, which caused the fire. “They were saved by a miracle and successfully managed to rescue themselves before the flames reached them,” the neighbor said.

Israel’s Defense Minister Israel Katz announced Wednesday morning that the administrative detention of a settler named Itiel Ben Tzruya would be shortened. According to a security source, Tzrurya is suspected of participating in the arson of property and attempted arson of homes in the village of Yatma and in riots in Jit.

Last month, dozens of masked settlers entered Beit Furik and caused significant damage to property. An Israeli security source said the settlers are suspected of arriving from the settlement of Itamar and setting fire to homes and a car in the village.

Israeli army and Border Police forces arrived at the scene and broke up a confrontation between the settlers and Palestinians, dispersing the demonstrators using crowd control measures.

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