Palestinian communities ‘wiped out’ as Israel-Hamas war sparks settler attacks in West Bank

The horrors of Hamas’s attack on Israel and the subsequent Israeli reprisals have shocked the world. While Gaza remains the epicentre, there is evidence the violence has spread to the West Bank, reports Louisa Loveluck, which has seen attacks on Palestinian communities accelerate since 7 October

Settlers stage a sit-in at the main intersection in front of the Shavei Shomron settlement, closing traffic to Palestinian cars, as well as the only road to Nablus from the south of the West Bank (Washington Post)

After dark in the South Hebron Hills, parents lie awake, listening for the settlers. A crunch of wheels on the dusty road means it’s time to scoop their children closer, to tell them they are loved, that they will be safe. By the time the engine cuts, car doors slam and the footsteps get louder, another night of terror is in motion.

In the Palestinian village of Umm al-Khair, residents described masked men in army uniforms overrunning their community last week. The men smashed residents’ mobile phones so no one could document the beatings that followed.

In nearby Susya, five men in similar dress beat Ahmad Nawaja, 38, underneath his olive tree. His daughters cried, he said, as the attackers slammed their rifle butts down on his body.