Illegal Israeli settlers attack Palestinian gathering in eastern West Bank

Illegal Israeli settlers on Sunday attacked a settlement of Bedouin or nomadic Palestinian tribes near Jericho in the eastern West Bank, firing gunshots to scare them and stealing several sheep.

According to the Al-Baydar Organization for Defending Rights of Bedouins, Israeli settlers stormed the Ras Ein al-Auja area in the north of Jericho, for the second consecutive day on Sunday.

During the attack, illegal Israeli settlers searched houses and livestock pens before stealing 10 sheep, the organization added.

“A group of settlers again raided the gathering in Ras Al-Ain, searched houses and livestock pens, and took about 10 sheep,” Hassan Mleihat, the organization official, told Anadolu.

He added that the settlers “assaulted residents and fired gunshots.”

On Saturday, the organization reported that illegal Israeli settlers attacked homes and livestock pens in the same area.

According to the organization, the Ein Al-Auja community is home to around 1,000 citizens from Bedouin families.

Tensions have been high across the occupied West Bank since Israel launched a deadly military offensive against the Gaza Strip, which has killed nearly 37,600 victims since Oct. 7.

Israel stands accused of genocide at the International Court of Justice, whose latest ruling ordered Tel Aviv to immediately halt its military operation in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip, where over a million Palestinians had sought refuge from the war before it was invaded on May 6.