Settler attacks against Palestinians ramp up

JEWISH settlers on Friday morning vandalized Palestinian buildings and vehicles in the Israeli-occupied West Bank city of Salfit, according to a Palestinian activist. Activist Wissam al-Dik told Anadolu Agency (AA) that a group of settlers had entered the city’s Kafr al-Dik district at dawn where they spray-painted racist slogans in Hebrew, including “Death to the Arabs,” on walls and vehicles before leaving the area. Palestinian towns and villages in the West Bank are frequently targeted by extremist Jewish settlers. Two Palestinian students were injured this week when Israeli settlers attacked a school near the West Bank city of Nablus yesterday, according to the Palestinian Red Crescent. Palestinian schools have long been subjected to Israeli violence. The Al-Laban-Al-Sawiya school in Nablus was attacked by settlers a few months ago and is constantly being attacked by the Israeli army, according to Palestinian residents. Around 650,000 Israelis currently live in more than 100 Jewish-only settlements built in the West Bank and East Jerusalem since 1967, when Israel occupied both areas. International law views both the West Bank and East Jerusalem as “occupied territories” and considers all Jewish settlement building activity there as illegal. The Palestinians want both these territories, along with the Gaza Strip, for the establishment of a future Palestinian state.