Windows of three homes and two cars were smashed by rocks on Tuesday night, March 2, in the Palestinian town of Hawara, only a day after a similar case took place in another town in the occupied West Bank. The hate crime was carried by Israeli settlers who entered the community late Tuesday night and vandalized vehicles and homes, the Zo Haderech website reported.
One of the Palestinian cars vandalized in the West Bank town of Hawara, late Monday night, March 2 (Photo: Hawara Council)
The Israeli rights group Yesh Din also attributed the violence to Jewish settlers and indicated that the crime was conducted while the family of one of the targeted homes was asleep. A day earlier, on Monday, March 1, stones were thrown at cars and windows in the village of Jalud, near Nablus.
“Just as predictably as “the sun rises in the east, the settlers continue to riot and intimidate Palestinians, and law enforcement agencies allow this to continue,” Yesh Din activist Lior Amihai said. “The silence of government ministers and politicians during an election campaign illustrates how comfortable and safe rioters feel in committing their crimes,” he added.
Settler violence directed toward Palestinians has spiked in recent months following the death of 16-year-old settler Ahuvia Sandak at the end of last year. The car in which Sandak was riding crashed while being pursued by Israeli police after he and several others had hurled stones at Palestinians.
At last week’s UN Security Council meeting on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process Tor Wennesland spoke of both Israeli violence against Palestinians and Palestinian violence against Israelis.
“In the last month, Israeli settlers and other civilians perpetrated some 25 attacks against Palestinians, resulting in five injuries and damage to property. Palestinians perpetrated 59 attacks against Israeli settlers and other civilians in the West Bank, resulting in eight injuries and damage to property,” Wennesland said.
Related: Settlers on the Rampage in the Occupied Palestinian West Bank
