Hundreds of settlers storm Nablus village, beat up old man

Hundreds of settlers storm Nablus village, beat up old man

NABLUS,  Hundreds of Zionist settlers stormed the village of Awarta, east of Nablus, at dawn Monday under protection of a large number of Zionist occupation forces, sources in Nablus city said.

They added that the settlers, mounting several buses, entered the village and offered Toratic rituals as the Israeli occupation forces (IOF) declared the village a closed military zone, blocking all traffic in and out of it.

Eyewitnesses reported that 400 settlers broke into the village claiming that Islamic graves were the burial site of their prophets, which raised fears among the villagers that the allegation was meant as a prelude to laying the settlers’ hands on those graveyards.

In Al-Khalil, settlers from Kiryat Arba beat up a 67-year-old Palestinian man on Sunday evening, local sources said, adding that Jadallah Al-Jabari was hospitalized following the assault.

Meanwhile, the IOF soldiers detained six Palestinians during incursions in Al-Khalil and Jenin districts at dawn Monday.

Yediot Ahronot quoted military sources as saying that three Palestinians were detained in Qabatia, Jenin, and three others in Al-Khalil district.