Hamas Denounces Escalating Settler Violence in West Bank as ‘Ethnic Cleansing’
According to the International Desk of Webangah News Agency, the Islamic Resistance Movement Hamas announced that the extensive attacks by armed Zionist settlers on villages in the occupied West Bank, carried out with the direct support and participation of the occupation army, are causing terror among citizens, attacking Palestinian farmers and olive harvesters, destroying their property, and systematically setting fire to olive trees. Hamas stated that these actions reveal a dangerous escalation of a policy targeting Palestinian presence in their land, which amounts to ethnic cleansing.
Hamas highlighted the latest incident in the village of Abu Falah near Ramallah, emphasizing that these acts are occurring before the eyes of the international community. The movement asserted that these attacks are not isolated incidents or beyond control but are organized crimes supported by the occupation cabinet and army, who utilize settlers as the forefront for implementing their plans.
The movement declared that the objective of these actions is to impose annexation plans, displace Palestinians, seize land, isolate Palestinian cities and villages, destroy the components of life, and consolidate the occupation regime’s control over the West Bank. This plan ultimately seeks to depopulate the region of Palestinian inhabitants, drive them from their land, and break the steadfastness and resilience of the Palestinian people.
Hamas described the scenes of olive trees being set ablaze before their owners and attacks on farmers striving to harvest their land and provide for their families as evidence of the nature of these organized assaults. The movement stressed that the Palestinian people’s adherence to their land and their resilience against forced displacement and settlement plans represent the primary obstacle to the regime’s colonial schemes.
In conclusion, Hamas urged the international community, the United Nations, and its affiliated bodies to assume their responsibilities and take immediate action to halt these crimes. The movement also called for comprehensive and deterrent sanctions against the regime and its settlers, as well as the activation of international accountability mechanisms to prosecute those responsible for these actions. This necessity is amplified by certain occupation officials openly calling for war crimes against Palestinian civilians in the West Bank and Gaza Strip.
