Palestinians: Settlers broke into houses, torched cars

Dozens of settler activists from the Esh Kodesh outpost broke into Palestinians’ homes and set fire to six cars in the West Bank village of Qusra, shortly after midnight on Wednesday, the Palestinian Ma’an News Agency reported. According to the report, the settlers clashed with local residents until the military intervened and forced them to leave the village.

On Wednesday, roughly 60 Palestinians participated in violent protests in Qusra, south of Nablus. Some of the protesters threw stones at Border Police, lightly injuring two.

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A spokesman for the Esh Kodesh outpost denied involvement, saying all the residents spent the night in bed.

The clashes between demonstrators and security forces followed Israel’s reported demolition of a local electrical power line.

Palestinian Authority official Ghassan Daghlas issued a press release saying that “several bulldozers began to demolish the power line in the northern part of the village. The destruction of the line means dozens of civilians are deprived of electricity.”

Daghlas also claimed that during the clashes, soldiers fired teargas and stun grenades at the protesters, and that some Israeli settlers had entered the village.