RAMALLAH, Palestine 

Illegal Israeli settlers launched attacks Wednesday that targeted Palestinians, their property and a mosque in the West Bank, according to the Palestinian official news agency WAFA.

The assaults occurred in Nablus, Ramallah, and Bethlehem.

In Nablus, the agency reported that settlers attacked a mosque near the town of Beit Furik in the eastern part of the city.

“Illegal settlers attacked the only mosque in the small village of Khirbet Tana, smashing solar panels and furniture inside, wreaking havoc,” WAFA reported, noting that the village is “repeatedly subjected to such assaults.”

Near Ramallah, settlers assaulted a Palestinian and seized his car near the town of Deir Dibwan, also in the east.

WAFA reported that the army raided the town of Turmus Aya in eastern Ramallah, setting up a military checkpoint at the entrance to the Abu Falah village to the northeast and another at the entrance to the village of Ein Siniya to the north, with no arrests reported.

In the southern West Bank near Bethlehem, settlers and soldiers attacked Palestinian homes.

“Illegal Israeli settlers and soldiers attacked Palestinian homes in Khalayel al-Luz, southeast of Bethlehem, firing live bullets and tear gas canisters, while soldiers pursued residents and vehicles in the area,” said WAFA.

Israeli forces arrested a young man who sustained bruises and injuries after falling from an ambulance after being chased by Israeli forces, Abdul Halim Jaafrah, director of emergency services at the Palestinian Red Crescent's Bethlehem branch, told WAFA.​​​​​​​

Attacks by illegal Israeli settlers have resulted in the displacement of 28 Bedouin communities and the deaths of 19 residents since last October, according to the Colonization and Wall Resistance Commission.

Tensions have been high across the occupied West Bank amid an ongoing Israeli offensive on the Gaza Strip, which has claimed nearly 42,000 Palestinian lives, mostly women and children, since Oct. 7, 2023.

Palestinian sources said nearly 750 Palestinians have been killed, and almost 6,200 injured in the occupied territory during that time.

The situation continues to escalate following a landmark opinion by the International Court of Justice on July 19, which declared Israel's decades-long occupation of Palestinian land unlawful and called for the evacuation of all settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem.

*Writing by Mohammad Sio