Israeli Settlers Burn Restaurant Near Al-Zaytouna University After Stealing Money in West Bank

Illegal Israeli settlers set fire to a restaurant near Al-Zaytouna University in the occupied West Bank on Sunday after stealing money from inside, local sources told Anadolu.

“Settlers burned a Palestinian restaurant and cafe on the road linking the eastern al-Lubban town, south of Nablus, with Salfit, north of the West Bank”

Al-Jazeera Net

The attack occurred between the towns of Al-Lubban ash-Sharqiya and Ammuriya, south of Nablus, and the sources said it happened under the protection of the Israeli army.

Al-Jazeera Net

Anadolu estimated the losses from the fire at around $300,000, describing the restaurant as completely destroyed.

In the same reporting, local sources said settlers also attacked an area near Palestinian homes in northern Sinjil, north of Ramallah, and residents confronted the attackers and forced them to retreat.

The Anadolu account also tied the violence to land seizures, saying the attack came days after Israeli authorities seized 464.4 dunams of the town's land under the pretext of "state land" to expand illegal settlement activity.

Al Jazeera Net described the restaurant arson as part of what Palestinians say is an unprecedented rise in settler assaults, saying the settlers invaded during the night hours, stole the money inside, and then set the place on fire, completely destroying it.

At the scene, Al Jazeera correspondent Laith Ja'ar said the attacks were no longer limited to establishing outposts or land-clearing, but had become nearly daily assaults targeting Palestinian villages and towns and the properties of their residents.

Anadolu Ajansı

The TRT World account placed the incident within a broader pattern of Israeli escalation in the occupied West Bank since October 2023, saying it has killed 1,175 Palestinians and injured 12,919 others, according to official Palestinian data.

TRT World also said the same period has led to the arrest of around 24,000 people.

In a separate framing, the Anadolu report said residents confronted the attackers in Sinjil and forced them to retreat, while also describing the restaurant attack as occurring under Israeli army protection.

Al Jazeera Net linked the restaurant attack to ongoing land-clearing and confiscation operations, saying the assault coincided with other attacks in Anata northeast of Jerusalem and in Yatta and Hebron in the southern West Bank.

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Haaretz

The same Al Jazeera Net account pointed to what it called a prominent land-clearing operation around what is known as Shuafat Airport near the town of Qalandiya north of Jerusalem, saying Palestinian properties are removed to pave the way for broad settlement projects.

Al Jazeera Net also said Palestinians record more than 3,400 attacks in the West Bank since the start of the year, describing the figure as indicating an unprecedented escalation in settler attacks.

In parallel, Al Jazeera Net said the occupation strengthened its military measures by deploying more than 1,000 military checkpoints at the entrances to Palestinian cities, towns, and villages.

TRT World added that the occupied West Bank escalation since October 2023 has been carried out by the Israeli army and illegal settlers, and it reported that the period has led to the arrest of around 24,000 people, according to official Palestinian data.