FIVE Israeli settlers have been arrested over their alleged involvement in an attack on a Palestinian home that wounded an eight-month-old baby in the occupied West Bank.
The Palestinian news agency Wafa reported that the infant suffered “moderate injuries to the face and head” in the attack that took place late on Wednesday involving “a group of armed settlers” who were throwing stones at homes and property in the town of Sair, north of Hebron.
Israeli police on Thursday said five settlers were arrested after they received reports of “stones being thrown by Israeli civilians toward a Palestinian home”.
Israeli settlements and outposts are Jewish-only communities built on Palestinian land that are illegal under international law. They can range in size from a single dwelling to a collection of high rises. About 700,000 settlers live in the West Bank and occupied East Jerusalem, according to the Israeli advocacy group Peace Now.
Elsewhere in the West Bank, a 17-year-old boy was shot and dozens of Palestinians suffered tear gas inhalation during an Israeli army raid in the town of Beit Furik, east of Nablus, Wafa reported.
The report added that “Israeli forces carried out a widespread incursion into the town, firing live bullets and tear gas canisters across its neighborhoods”.
Israeli forces also detained three Palestinians from Masafer Yatta, south of Hebron, after settler attacks.
Also in Masafer Yatta, Israeli forces raided homes and tents belonging to residents, searched them and vandalised their contents before detaining one resident.
Another Palestinian man was wounded in a settler attack in the town of Deir Jarir, east of Ramallah.
Local sources said armed settlers attacked homes near the village entrance, resulting in minor injuries to a young man.
