Israeli occupiers hurt 3 Palestinians, including children, in ongoing West Bank pogrom

Israeli occupiers storm village near Nablus, perform Talmudic rituals at Muslim places of worship, local sources say Three Palestinians, including two children, were injured Friday when Israeli occupiers attacked a home in the occupied West Bank, according to a local source. Occupiers attacked the home in the Khallat al-Hummus area of the Hebron (Al-Kalil) governorate and sprayed residents with pepper gas, injuring three, including two children, the source told Anadolu. Israeli occupiers also surrounded Palestinian homes in the town of Yatta, where they tried to break into an olive grove, local sources said. The attacks come amid surging violence by Israeli occupiers against Palestinians and their property across the occupied West Bank. In the Ramallah and Al-Bireh governorate, clashes broke out between Palestinians and Israeli military forces after the latter raided the Beit Rima area northwest of Ramallah city. Israeli forces fired live ammunition and teargas during the clashes, although no injuries were reported, local sources told Anadolu. Israeli occupiers also entered the village of Deir Abu Mashal west of Ramallah city, while Israeli military forces set up a checkpoint at the western entrance of the town of Al-Mughayyir, preventing the movement of Palestinian vehicles. In the Nablus governorate, hundreds of Israeli occupiers -- under Israeli army protection -- stormed the village of Awarta, where they performed Talmudic rituals at Muslim places of worship, local sources said. Israeli forces also seized a Palestinian home in the village and converted it into a military post, the sources said. Local sources also reported that Israeli occupiers wearing army uniforms had stormed an area near the town of Beit Furik, where they prevented Palestinians from reaching two local mosques to attend Friday prayers. According to Palestine’s Wafa news agency, Israeli forces also raided the village of Tell southwest of Nablus city, where they ransacked homes and arrested a Palestinian resident and seized his vehicle. In the Bethlehem governorate, Israeli forces raided the village of Al-Ma’sara, where they searched the home of former Palestinian prisoner Mohammed Zawahra, Wafa reported. Israeli occupiers also reportedly stormed the Zaatara wilderness east of Bethlehem city, where they gathered in the Wadi al-Muallaq area and provoked local residents. In the Tubas governorate, local sources told Anadolu that Israeli forces had carried out raids in the town of Tammun, where military vehicles were deployed in several areas. Separately, Israeli and foreign peace activists staged a protest outside the European Union office in occupied East Jerusalem, calling on the bloc to stop violence by Israeli occupiers against Palestinians. Protesters carried banners reading, “The EU must stop Israeli terrorism now,” “Stop the war on the Palestinian people,” “Resist ethnic cleansing,” and “Stop the genocide.” The protest came as Israeli occupiers carried out separate attacks in the Jenin, Nablus, Bethlehem and Hebron (Al-Khalil) governorates, targeting Palestinians and their property, local sources told Anadolu. In the Jenin governorate, meanwhile, Naim al-Shaer, a Palestinian farmer, said in video footage documenting the attacks that Israeli occupiers had raided his farm in the Arraba plain overnight. He said the occupiers had cut down fig trees, damaged irrigation equipment, and destroyed a fence around his farm, severely harming his livelihood. “We take care of our land like our children, but the occupiers destroyed it,” al-Shaer said in the video. According to the Palestinian Colonization and Wall Resistance Commission, 25 West Bank Palestinians have been killed in attacks by Israeli occupiers this year alone. The escalation has been accompanied by the expansion of illegal Israeli settlement outposts and increased restrictions on the movement of Palestinian residents. At the end of July, the resistance commission put the total number of Israeli occupiers in the West Bank, including Jerusalem, at roughly 780,000. These include 333,600 in occupied East Jerusalem and 446,400 in the rest of the West Bank, the commission said. The Israeli-occupied West Bank has seen a dramatic surge in occupier attacks and Israeli military activity since Israel launched its genocidal war on the Gaza Strip in October 2023.