Settlers torch over 100 vehicles and olive trees near Nablus
Fire spread across a wide area, cutting power and damaging land, and several residents needed treatment for smoke inhalation.
Israeli settlers torched more than 100 vehicles and dozens of olive trees in the village of al-Lubban ash-Sharqiya, south of Nablus, on Wednesday, the official Palestinian news agency WAFA reported.
Local sources said dozens of settlers entered an area north of the village, where a vehicle scrapyard was set alight and more than 100 cars were destroyed.
The flames also reached about 10 cars belonging to residents that were parked near homes, along with several vehicles at a nearby repair workshop.
The head of the village council said losses were estimated at more than one million shekels, as the fire spread across a large area and destroyed land, trees and vehicles.
He said the blaze also burned dozens of olive trees, storage sites and streetlight poles, cutting off electricity to the area.
Hundreds of residents rushed to the site when the fire started and tried to contain it with basic tools before Civil Defense crews arrived.
Several residents were treated for smoke inhalation from the fumes of the burning vehicles, and Palestine Red Crescent Society teams from Salfit gave first aid at the scene.
Five Civil Defense teams from Salfit, Aqraba, Burin, Sinjil and Abwein worked for more than five hours to put out the fire.
More than 10 Israeli military vehicles also entered the village and headed toward the site of the fire.
Wider pattern of attacks
Settler attacks on Palestinian villages and property in the occupied West Bank have been reported repeatedly in recent months, and such incidents often damage farmland and livelihoods.