RAMALLAH, Palestine / ANKARA

A group of illegal Israeli settlers on Friday attacked Palestinian herders in the southern West Bank, continuing their spree of violent attacks against innocent people.

Eyewitnesses told Anadolu that the settlers, who were under the protection of the Israeli forces, assaulted the Palestinian herders near the Al-Maniya village, east of Bethlehem city, and tried to steal their sheep.

As a confrontation erupted between the assailant settlers and Palestinians, Israeli forces intervened in favor of the settlers and fired tear gas canisters at the Palestinians, resulting in several asphyxiation cases, witnesses said.

In February, the Israeli army carried out 1,475 attacks, while settlers carried out 230 attacks against Palestinians in the West Bank, according to a report by the official Colonization and Wall Resistance Commission.

Since the start of Israel’s war on Gaza on Oct. 7, 2023, Israeli forces and illegal settlers have intensified attacks across the occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, killing more than 944 Palestinians, injuring around 7,000, and arresting over 15,800, according to official Palestinian figures.

The Israeli army has also launched a deadly offensive in the northern West Bank since January, killing more than 70 Palestinians and displacing thousands.

The International Court of Justice declared Israel’s longstanding occupation of Palestinian territories illegal in July. It demanded the evacuation of all settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem.