Int’l Activists Rallying in Support of Huwara Attacked by Israeli Forces
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – A peaceful demonstration by international activists in support of the Palestinians in the town of Huwara, south of Nablus, was attacked by Israeli forces on Friday.
Troops blocked Huwara and Zatara military checkpoints on Friday, physically assaulting some of the demonstrators and firing tear gas, according to WAFA news agency.
Several demonstrators were arrested during the confrontation. A video that has surfaced on social media shows an arrested individual who says he is an American citizen.
Another video shows Israeli troops pushing former Knesset speaker Avraham Burg until he falls to the ground.
On Sunday, Israeli settlers went on a rampage in the occupied West Bank villages, torching dozens of houses and cars. One Palestinian was killed and at least 390 injured in the ferocious attacks, with Palestinian media reporting stabbings and attacks with metal rods and rocks. The settlers were reportedly angered by the killing of two Israeli settlers by a Palestinian gunman in Huwara.
Settlers and regime troops have escalated attacks on Palestinians since late December 2022, when Benjamin Netanyahu staged a comeback as the regime’s prime minister at the head of a cabinet of far-right parties. At least 68 Palestinians have been killed in attacks by Israeli forces and settlers since the start of 2023.
Following the latest act of aggression by settlers in the West Bank, the regime’s finance minister Bezalel Smotrich said the Palestinian village of Huwara should be “wiped out.” His comments came after Zvika Fogel, a member of the Israeli parliament, on Monday condoned the settler violence in Huwara – home to about 7,000 people. “A terrorist came out of Huwara – and Huwara was closed and burned,” Fogel said. “This is what I want to see. That’s the only way we’ll achieve deterrence.”
Several countries, including the US which is a close ally of the regime, censured Smotrich’s comments.
The Palestinian Ambassador to the UN Riyad Mansour said on Tuesday that it was incumbent on the UN Security Council to intervene and elevate “itself to the level of taking steps” amid heightened Israeli violence. “Protection, protection, protection is what the Palestinian civilian population are asking for.”
“We believe that the Security Council has a responsibility to shoulder, especially with regard to ... taking steps to provide protection to the civilian population, especially after the criminal and terrorist act by settlers in Huwara and nearby villages.”