Israeli settlers reportedly set fire to a home and adjacent agricultural land in the West Bank early Thursday, amid what Palestinians say is a campaign of intimidation to push them off their land.
Residents of the northern Jordan Valley town of Bardala told Palestinian media that a property had been set ablaze by settlers sometime after midnight Thursday.
Ambulances and fire trucks trying to reach the scene were blocked by Israeli authorities, they claimed.
The Israel Defense Forces and Israel Police did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
The suspected arson attack came after unseasonably hot and dry conditions in the region sparked several large blazes in the hills west of Jerusalem Wednesday, forcing authorities to evacuate several towns and stranding motorists on highways as high winds fueled the rapidly spreading brush fires. Firefighters only managed to contain the blazes late Thursday morning, after some 20 hours.
The fire in Bardala, which was captured in video footage shared on social media, is the latest in a series of suspected arson attacks on Palestinian property by Israeli settlers in the West Bank.
On Tuesday, a Palestinian man died after his home was set ablaze as part of a violent settler attack in the village of Sinjil, close to Ramallah, an eyewitness told The Times of Israel. The 47-year-old reportedly suffered from a heart attack following beatings by soldiers, tear gas, and smoke inhalation.
During the same incident, settlers also set fire to the property and home of a Bedouin family living on the outskirts of Sinjil. According to the Palestinians, one of the family members was injured in settler beatings.
There was no response to the incident from the IDF.
Earlier in April, Palestinians accused Israeli settlers of setting fire to a wedding hall and spraying graffiti in the central West Bank village of Bidya.
Footage showed flames engulfing the building, while graffiti sprayed on nearby walls read “Revenge,” “Death to Arabs,” and “Fight the enemy, not the friend.” No injuries were reported.
Palestinian residents frequently say such attacks are part of an effort by extremist settlers to intimidate them into fleeing their land.
Law enforcement and military responses to settler violence have faced mounting scrutiny amid concerns that members of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s right-wing cabinet are unwilling to tackle extremist attacks on Palestinians.
In January, the Israel Police came under fire in the High Court over its failure to curb such incidents.
During a hearing, the court reviewed a petition by residents of the Palestinian village of Khirbet Zanuta, who have accused the IDF, the Israel Police, and the Defense Ministry of contempt of court for failing to fulfill court orders to protect them from violence.
In the request, the village’s lawyers provided photos of settlers from the nearby illegal settlement outpost of Meitarim Farm filming villagers inside their homes and harassing their livestock.
According to Ynet, then-Acting Supreme Court President Isaac Amit, now the permanent head of the judiciary, slammed the lack of accountability during the hearing, saying: “Not a single indictment had been filed. We see settlers inside their homes. Nothing has been done.”
Police officials have pushed back against the criticism.
Chief Inspector Aviad Balmas, head investigator at the Hebron station, claimed during the January hearing: “We send a car to every incident. The area is huge. We investigate and summon people for questioning. The fact that there are complaints does not mean all of them happened.”