Palestinians Describe West Bank Settlers’ Attacks in Ramallah
(Arab World Press) - Protected by the Israeli army, settlers sealed off the entrances to the villages of Silwad, Turmus Aya and Sinjil in the West Bank governorate of Ramallah on Saturday morning, and attacked passing cars, said the Palestinian news agency, WAFA.
Dozens of settlers closed the western entrance to Silwad, also known as Jisr Yabrud, or Yabrud Bridge, assaulted citizens’ cars with stones, and denied them entry or exit. WAFA reported no casualties.
Settlers also attacked the entrance of Turmus Aya and assaulted vehicles, while the Israeli forces closed the entrance of Sinjil village and prevented vehicles from passing through.
“I was driving back from Ramallah, and found out the road to my village, Sinjil, was closed, all the way to Turmus Aya, Ein Yabrud and Dayr Dibwan. All the roads leading to the Eastern Region were sealed off,” said Nizar Abu Kirsh, a truck driver.
“We were standing on the main road when Israeli settlers attacked us and wanted to beat us. We returned to the area of Sinjil,” he added.
Another driver, MohamedAl-Qarak, said he had gone out in the morning to bring a car from a village, but that settlers had harassed the motorists at Turmus Aya and Ofer, where they had sealed off the road.
“We passed with difficulty through the settlers, who attacked us and our cars, but we escaped. Now, we have been waiting for three hours at the entrance of Sinjil on the road to Nablus. I took the car to go to Nablus, and I have been waiting for three hours, as all roads are sealed off,” he noted.
Israeli settlers also waged an attack on the village of Al-Mughayyir, near Ramallah, where one Palestinian man was killed and 25 others wounded, according to the Palestinian health ministry.