Palestinian officials accuse Israeli settlers of arson attack

Palestinian officials say Israeli settlers attacked neighbourhoods in Al-Bireh, close to the Palestinian Authority’s headquarters in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, setting cars and property on fire.

According to local officials, at least 18 vehicles were burned. No one was wounded during the early morning attack in the city, adjacent to Ramallah where the Palestinian Authority is headquartered.

The Palestinian Authority, which administers population centres in the territory, condemned the attack. Meanwhile, the Israeli police who handle law enforcement matters involving settlers in the West Bank, said they were investigating the incident.

Since 7 October last year, settler attacks on Palestinians and their property have surged in the occupied West Bank, but attacks in and around Ramallah, home to senior Palestinian officials and international missions, are rare.

Over 500,000 Jewish settlers with Israeli citizenship live in scores of settlements across the West Bank, which most of the international community considers illegal.

Meanwhile, senior officials in the Palestinian Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Monday condemned Israel’s termination of an agreement with UNRWA, a UN agency providing aid in Gaza, the West Bank, and East Jerusalem.

The ending of the Israeli agreement on Monday follows legislation passed last month that would sever ties with the agency and prevent it from operating in Israel.

“We are deeply concerned by this unlawful decision, which revokes the privileges and immunity of UNRWA and terminates its operations in the occupied state of Palestine,” said Varsen Shahin, a senior official in the Palestinian Foreign Ministry.

“We consider these laws illegal, null, and void,” Shahin added.

Israel accused the agency of having been infiltrated by Hamas, an allegation that UNRWA has denied, stressing its neutrality.

International aid groups have warned that the legislation could severely hamper UNRWA’s work, creating further obstacles to addressing a severe humanitarian crisis in Gaza.