HUWARA: Dozens of Israeli settlers set homes and cars ablaze in the northern town of Huwara overnight, leaving over 350 Palestinians injured after a day of Israeli-Palestinian talks in neighbouring Jordan aimed at quelling a surge in violence in the Palestinian territory.

On Monday, an AFP photographer saw damaged homes blackened by fire, long lines of charred cars, burned trees and smashed windows in the town in the occupied West Bank. “They burned the cars and the houses and destroyed everything,” Huwara resident Diaa Odeh said.

“Whenever we started to push the settlers back, the army was firing tear gas at us,” added the 25-year-old.

Wajeh Odeh, a member of the town’s municipality, said 30 houses were burned and damaged while more than 100 cars were torched.

The occupied West Bank is home to about 2.9 million Palestinians and an estimated 475,000 Jewish settlers, who live in settlements considered illegal under international law. An Israeli military official said 300 to 400 people went to the area for “revenge” and described the violence as “actions of terror”, without elaborating. “(We are) trying to de-escalate and keep the two sides apart in this very, very hard situation that we are in,” the official told journalists. The Palestinian health ministry said Sameh Aqtash, 37, was shot dead during an attack by Israeli forces and settlers on the nearby village of Zaatara.

Abdel Moneim Aqtash said he and his brother were standing outside a blacksmith’s workshop when they were attacked by Israeli settlers.

The Palestinian Red Crescent Society said more than 350 Palestinians were injured.

Published in Dawn, February 28th, 2023