With World Distracted by War, Extremist Settlers Intensify Attacks in West Bank
Natan Odenheimer, David M. Halbfinger and Fatima AbdulKarim The New York Times
Israeli settlers gather on a hill next to the Palestinian town of Halhul, north of Hebron in the occupied West Bank. (photo: Menahem Kahana/AFP)
Israel has failed to arrest a wave of violence against Palestinians, prompting military officials to urge the government to intervene.
The attack in Qusra, on March 14, was one of many in a wave of brutal violence in the West Bank over the past two months.
Villagers might have once driven the attackers away by throwing stones, said Mr. Odeh, 46, but settlers now routinely carry guns. “We are helpless,” he said, “and they know it.”
With the world’s attention focused on the U.S.-Israeli war with Iran and its proxies, extremist settlers acting with seeming impunity have intensified their attacks on Palestinians across the Israeli-occupied West Bank. Their campaign of violence and intimidation is emptying out entire villages and leaving countless Palestinians fearing what each nightfall might bring.
In the Jordan Valley, masked men sexually assaulted Suhaib Abualkebash, 29, and brutalized his extended family, children included.
In Deir Dibwan, east of Ramallah, Odeh Awawdeh, 25, was fatally shot when he tried to stop settlers from stealing his family’s sheep, according to his family and local authorities.
