Houses and cars burned and more than a dozen injured in settler attacks in the West Bank

BarcelonaViolent Israeli settlers attacked several West Bank villages early Sunday morning, burning cars and houses, and beating or throwing stones at Palestinian civilians. At least twelve people were injured. The incidents occurred near the cities of Ramallah, Nablus, and Jenin, after an 18-year-old settler was killed on Saturday when his car collided with a Palestinian vehicle. Authorities are investigating whether it was a simple accident or a terrorist act. However, the settlers took justice into their own hands.

On Sunday, around 1 a.m., settlers beat six young Palestinians in several villages near Jenin, to the point that they had to be hospitalized, according to a statement from the Palestinian Red Crescent. Three other young men were injured after another group of settlers threw stones at their vehicle west of Salfit, a town near Ramallah and the large Jewish settlement of Ariel. And at least three other people were injured in the village of Jalud, southeast of Nablus, when settlers set fire to several vehicles and a medical clinic. On Sunday afternoon, the scene in the attacked areas was devastating.

"Our limited resources—sticks and stones—are insufficient against the weapons and equipment used by these criminals, who have the direct support of the [Israeli] army. The situation is more dangerous than we realize," lamented Palestinian activist Bashar Qaryuti.

In fact, this Sunday the Palestinian presidency called on the European Union to adopt "concrete measures" to help stop this escalation of violence against the Palestinian population. "[The joint condemnation] must be followed by practical and decisive stances from the international community to adopt concrete measures that stop these violations, hold the perpetrators accountable, and provide protection for our defenseless people," sources from the presidency, headed by Mahmoud Abbas, stated in a press release. The condemnation they are referring to is a joint statement from the European Union last Friday, in which European leaders denounced "the growing violence of the settlers."

This Sunday's attacks occurred after an eighteen-year-old settler, Yehuda Shmuel Sherman, was killed on Saturday in the West Bank in an incident in which his SUV collided with a Palestinian driver's car. Israeli police and the army are investigating whether the incident was a terrorist attack.