Australia warns against increasing Israel settler attacks on Palestinians in West Bank

October 31, 2023 at 8:52 pm

A view of the debris of the house of Palestinian prisoner Bacis Nahle, demolished by Israeli forces on Jalazone refugee camp in Ramallah, West Bank on October 28, 2023. [Issam Rimawi – Anadolu Agency

Australia has expressed concerns over increasing attacks on Palestinians in the West Bank by Jewish settlers, amid the ongoing Israeli bombardment of the Gaza Strip.

In a post on X on Tuesday, Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong stated that “Australia is deeply concerned by reports of ongoing settler violence against Palestinians in the West Bank, Such violence threatens to only inflame tensions and those responsible must be held accountable”.

Wong’s urge to Tel Aviv came a day after she urged Israel to “listen” when its friends ask it to protect innocent lives in Gaza, warning that the world “will not accept continuing civilian deaths”.

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Since the Palestinian Resistance group, Hamas, launched its Operation Al-Aqsa Flood into Israeli-held territory surrounding Gaza, Occupation Forces have subjected the besieged land Strip to a brutal campaign of airstrikes and bombings, killing thousands of civilians and forcing Gazans to flee to the south in an effort to exile them into Egypt’s Sinai desert.

The West Bank has also been affected by the developments, with illegal Jewish settlers attacking Palestinians and their properties, while largely backed by the Israeli military.

According to the Palestinian Authority-affiliated Wall and Settlement Resistance Commission, since 7 October, settlers have conducted at least 280 attacks against Palestinians in the West Bank, utilising terror tactics against the population and their farms and properties.

Palestinian figures have put the number of killed Palestinians in the West Bank at 124, with 1,680 others having been detained by Occupation Forces since the Hamas operation.