Palestinian American: Settlers Torch 3 Cars in West Bank Raid
Mustafa Zaatar said the group entered Abu Falah village at about 1.30 a.m., encircled his house and damaged the property before burning the cars. He watched it happen live on surveillance cameras around the home.
“Within about 10 minutes, we saw the cars go up in flames,” he added.
Neighbors later confronted the attackers and extinguished the fires, Zaatar said, adding that villagers feared they would be shot.
He said two Palestinians were killed last year in an attack by settlers in the same area.
“They are trying to force us off our land,” he said. “We will stay here. We will not leave.”
Zaatar, who also holds US citizenship, said that status had given him no protection.
“I am an American citizen, but I have not felt that it protected me or offered me anything,” he said.
Relatives in the US contacted the American consulate, which later got in touch with Zaatar, he said. He has asked consular officials to visit his home to assess the damage and the threats against him.
In August, US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee characterized settler violence against Palestinians across the occupied West Bank as “terrorism,” warning that such violence harms Israel’s image.
Attacks by the Israeli military and settlers in the West Bank have escalated since the Gaza war began in October 2023. According to official Palestinian figures, at least 1,206 Palestinians, including 254 children, have been killed over that period. About 13,350 have been wounded and more than 24,600 arrested.
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