Settlers torch cars in attack near Ramallah

Jewish settlers torched 20 cars during an attack on Palestinian property on the outskirts of the occupied West Bank city of Ramallah today, residents said.

Around a dozen attackers, masked and carrying petrol bombs, targeted Al-Bireh area, which adjoins Ramallah, torching the cars in a matter of minutes, they said.

The facade of a residential building was left blackened by fires set in cars that had been parked outside.

Israel Police and the Shin Bet security agency said they had launched an investigation, however most probes into attacks on Palestinians end with no Israelis arrested or reprimanded.

The Palestinian Authority, based in Ramallah, condemned “the brutal attack by settler militias”.

Hamas official Abdul Rahman Shadid said the attack represented an escalation by settlers and required “escalating the confrontation and confronting these crimes”, a statement by the Palestinian group said.

Settler violence had been on the rise prior to the eruption of the Gaza war, and has worsened since Israel launched its genocidal bombing campaign in the enclave over a year ago.

All settlements and settler outposts are illegal under international law.

Meanwhile Displaced Palestinians gathered to receive essential supplies at an UNRWA school in Deir Al-Balah, Gaza.

As Israel formally notified the UN of its decision to cancel relations with the Palestinian relief agency.

Those who rely on the service are now concerned about the future of such life-saving humanitarian assistance in the strip.

UNRWA has been the main U.N. relief organization for Palestinian refugees since 1967, providing education and aid services to millions in the occupied West Bank and Gaza.

But last month, the Israeli parliament passed legislation banning it from operating in Israel and stopping Israeli authorities from cooperating with the organization.

Since the start of war in October last year, Israel has maintained UNRWA has been deeply infiltrated by Hamas, accusing some of its staff of taking part in the Oct. 7 attack on Israel.