"What happened was horrific and barbaric," said Hawara

A Palestinian child strolls by burning cars close to Hawara

Hawara is littered with burned-out cars and blackened homes that have been set on fire. As people talk about the night their town burned, the air has an acrid taste.

Residents told the BBC that a mob torched homes, cars, and trees after going on an hour-long rampage while armed with iron bars and rocks.

The settlers broke out the windows of our home and set my nephew's cars and trucks on fire. They attempted to break into my auto showroom and set it on fire," said Abdel Nasser al-Junaidi in a statement made in front of his residence.

He described how, in an effort to keep his kids safe, he hurried them up to the rooftop.

"The army made no effort to keep us safe. It assisted and safeguarded the settlers. Both soldiers and settlers fired their weapons. We were frightened. The attack that took place was horrifying and barbaric, according to Mr. al-Junaidi.

When you continue walking the length of this town, which is situated next to Route 60, the main road that runs north-south through the occupied West Bank, the extent of the damage becomes apparent.

Hawara
A mob set fire to trees, cars, and buildings.

Numerous houses are destroyed, storefronts are set on fire, and dozens of cars, including many in a burned-out used car lot, are also torched.

According to the Palestinian Health Ministry, Sameh Aqtash, 37, passed away on Sunday night after being shot in the stomach by settlers during an attack in Zaatara. Numerous others were hurt.

A family was forced to be rescued by paramedics after settlers blocked their front door with burning tires, trapping them inside their home. .

A large family attempted to flee as their home was attacked a few hundred meters from the highway.

Oday al-Domadi told the BBC in the charred remains of his burned-out living room, "My wife, my brother's wife, and our young children were in the house, they were screaming, and the children were crying, and they were crying out for protection from the settlers' oppression, and we could not reach them.".

When he learned that settlers in Nablus were organizing a march for "revenge" following the murder of two Israeli settlers earlier that day, he hurried home from his job. Living 1.2 miles south of Nablus in the village of Har Bracha were Hillel and Yagel Yaniv.

When we entered the house, they were already destroying it with about 30 masked settlers brandishing pistols. As soon as they saw us, they threw stones at us, breaking my brother's shoulder. .

"I shouted at the soldiers to protect the children and stop the settlers from frightening them, but the soldiers responded by shooting at me and shouting at me to stay at home," recalled Mr. al-Domadi. Eventually, he was able to make sure his children were secure in a different area of the building.

"The children's experiences, including the terror and panic they felt, were the worst. After that, they were cowering in my lap out of fear and pleading with me to stay by their side. ".

The Israeli army has defended how it has handled the violence, but a military official warned that "the deployment's wisdom may be questioned.".

Israeli soldiers carry the coffin during the funeral of two Israeli brothers Hillel and Yagel Yaniv
At the funeral for two Israeli brothers, Hillel and Yagel Yaniv, Israeli soldiers carry the coffin.

Human rights organizations have long attributed settler violence against Palestinian civilians in the occupied West Bank to a climate of impunity, particularly in some of the most irrational settlements near Huwara and Nablus.

According to them, this has now been exacerbated by the strong far-right, pro-settlers element of Israel's new government.

Israel's police frequently claim to be looking into such cases, but activists claim that this is frequently just a cover-up.

Concern about a descent into uncontrollable violence is growing in tandem with waves of Israeli military search and arrest raids in Palestinian cities and an increase in the number of armed attacks against Israelis by Palestinians.

Increasing signs that the Palestinian Authority (PA), despite American-led efforts to assist it, is unable to regain control of its limited security control of important cities give the impression that a tipping point is about to occur.

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