RAMALLAH: Israeli settlers stormed a Palestinian village and injured five people on Thursday, a rights group said, after the military dismantled illegal outposts.
The Israeli military, which has come under international criticism over settler violence, said it intervened and took down two outposts built by settlers without permission in the occupied West Bank.
More than 500,000 Israelis live in settlements across the West Bank, all of which are deemed illegal under international law, and some of which, known as outposts, are built without Israeli government approval.
“After Israeli military forces left the area, dozens of settlers, armed with clubs, tear gas and stones, stormed the village of Atara,” the Israeli rights group Yesh Din said in a statement.
“Five residents were injured and hospitalized, one in serious condition with a brain hemorrhage,” Yesh Din added.
The Palestinian Red Crescent said one of the injured people was 67 years old.
The army said it had removed tents, vehicles and “temporary structures” erected by settlers in two outposts including one near Atara.
“During the enforcement activity near Atara, Israeli rioters barricaded themselves inside structures” and were dispersed, the military added.
Abdelhadi Atari, a resident of Atara and local journalist, told AFP that settlers broke into and vandalized Palestinian houses soon after the army arrived.
