Israeli settlers set fire to a mosque, an olive tree and a vehicle during a raid on the village of Mikhmas in the occupied West Bank early on Wednesday, according to the Palestinian news agency Wafa. Online reports said the settlers also sprayed racist slogans on the walls of the mosque, other buildings and Palestinian homes.
Settler attacks across the occupied Palestinian territories have increased since Israel launched its war on Gaza three years ago. Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International have accused the Israeli government of enabling settler violence aimed at expanding control over Palestinian land.
The same day, Wednesday, settlers attacked a Palestinian boy in the town of Beita, south of Nablus. Israeli forces arrested three Palestinians after a raid on the city of Qalqilya. The army also raided the village of Tammun and fired tear gas, according to the Palestinian Quds News Network.
As the olive harvest gets under way across the West Bank, Israeli settlers have mobilized to threaten and obstruct Palestinian farmers, who depend on the crop as a vital source of income. According to Amnesty International, about 750,000 settlers live illegally in the occupied West Bank and occupied East Jerusalem. Settlements on occupied territory are illegal under international law.
