Hamas said in a statement on Saturday that more than 260 attacks by settlers against Palestinians and their property were recorded in the West Bank in October alone, bringing the number of attacks since the beginning of the year to around 1,500.
The group described the escalation as part of a “planned and systematic strategy” by Israel aimed at spreading fear and forcing Palestinians to leave their land.
Hamas said its repeated attacks on Palestinian farmland during the olive harvest were “deliberate and repeated acts” aimed at pressuring farmers and furthering its expansion and control of settlements in the West Bank.
The statement called on the international community, the United Nations and other international organizations to “take moral and legal responsibility”, condemn the attack and take effective measures to stop settlers’ “terrorism and systematic aggression” against the Palestinian people.
Hamas also called for Israeli leaders to be prosecuted in an international tribunal for “ongoing crimes against the Palestinian people, their lands and holy sites.”
MNA/RN