‘This assault wasn't just meant to burn the houses but also to kill - to kill women and children,’ says Barhan Omar, standing in the charred ruins of his family's villa, which Israeli settlers attacked on Sunday.
‘They came in big numbers. This was organised terrorism,’ he tells me, fighting back tears. ‘What's terrifying is that you're sitting in your house with your children, then suddenly you come under fire.’
The Palestinian bank manager says settlers shot at his home in Deir al-Hatab, near Nablus, as well as setting it alight, and that he and his children escaped only by hiding on their roof. Across the occupied West Bank, there has been a new spate of settler violence in recent days. During the rampage in Deir al-Hatab, at least 10 people were injured - mostly by thrown stones, with one man shot in the foot.
This follows a recent funeral for a young Israeli attended by hundreds that led to heightened tensions in the area. The settler violence has led to serious concerns from international authorities, including suggestions that these actions may amount to ethnic cleansing. The far-right Israeli government, however, continues to push forward its agenda of settlement expansion, making the situation increasingly precarious for Palestinians.
Local residents like Samer Omar express their fears as settlers expand towards their villages, saying, ‘Soon, we'll be encircled. There's no safety anymore.’ The ongoing violence, they fear, could lead to a new uprising among the Palestinian population.
