BETHLEHEM, Palestine

At least 16 Palestinians were injured on Friday when armed illegal Israeli settlers attacked Al-Minya village in the central occupied West Bank, about 9 kilometers (5.5 miles) southeast of Bethlehem.

The Palestinian Red Crescent Society reported that its medical teams in Bethlehem treated six people who had fractures and were later taken to the hospital.

It added that six more Palestinians were injured by settlers who were also carrying clubs and rifles, and four more suffered from tear gas inhalation, all of whom received on-site medical care.

Earlier, the society reported receiving three injured Palestinians who were given first aid and transported to a hospital.

Zayed Kawazba, head of Al-Minya municipal council, told Anadolu that around 55 Israeli settlers, some armed, attacked the village, assaulting residents with clubs and rifle butts while also firing tear gas canisters, resulting in multiple injuries.

He added that the settlers smashed three vehicles and four solar panels before withdrawing from the area.

Kawazba noted that the attackers belong to the extremist Israeli settlers group "Hilltop Youth" that had recently established an illegal outpost on the village’s land.

According to the Palestinian government-run Wall and Colonization Resistance Commission, illegal Israeli settlers carried out 375 attacks against Palestinians and their properties in the West Bank during January.

Meanwhile, the Israeli army continues its devastating offensive in Jenin and Tulkarem, the northern West Bank, which began on Jan. 21 and has already killed over 30 people, displaced thousands, and caused widespread destruction.

The Israeli escalation in the West Bank follows a ceasefire and prisoner exchange deal in Gaza on Jan. 19 after more than 15 months of Israeli bombardment, which has killed over 48,200 Palestinians and devastated the enclave.

Since the war began on Oct. 7, 2023, Israeli forces and settlers have killed at least 912 Palestinians across the occupied West Bank, according to the Health Ministry.

In July 2024, the International Court of Justice declared Israel's decades-long occupation of Palestinian land illegal and demanded the evacuation of all existing settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem.