West Bank: Israeli settlers continue to harass Palestinians, reportedly burn down house

The FRANCE 24 Observers team contacted a member of the family who owned the burnt-out house. The Palestinian in his fifties described the attack:

The settlers came in the middle of the night, at 1.30 am. They broke into my house. There were seven of us in the house, we were woken up by the fire, and we saw two people running away, but we couldn't see them clearly. We called the fire brigade, but they took too long to come. The fire had plenty of time to spread. 

This isn't the first time; a few days ago, we were attacked and some of our belongings were stolen. 

I had already contacted the police and filed a complaint. The police took photos and left. They didn't arrest anyone or do anything.

A video posted by several Palestinian activist and journalist accounts showed the extent of the destruction caused by the fire.

Residents of the village told the Observers team that they saw two men set fire to the house and then leave for one of the settler outposts. While this information is not independently verifiable, other attacks by settlers in Susya have already been documented and verified.

‘The settlement is on the site of our former village’

According to a local activist called Hassan, around 350 Palestinians live in the village of Susya today.

The colony is on the site of Susya, our former village. They established it after we moved there in 1986. They forcibly evicted us and allowed the settlers to move into our village. Today, we are located around 300 metres from our original village and, as a result, from the colony.

The presence of the settlement on the site of the old village goes hand in hand with pressure on the agricultural land used by Palestinians, as demonstrated by the recent uprooting of 200 olive trees by Israeli settlers in Susya.

This pressure also extends to the control of water points.

The village of Susya has historically depended on collecting water from wells and rainfall. After October 7, the settlements took control of 95% of these wells and are preventing Palestinians from using them. And the remaining 5%, which are inside the village, are also off-limits. Their herds of cows and sheep go there, and they even bring their herds to destroy our olive trees and crops.

According to the Israeli NGO B'Tselem, which defends human rights by documenting violations committed in the occupied territories, the current Palestinian village of Susya has existed since at least 1917. Located in Area C of the West Bank, Susya is under exclusive Israeli military and civilian control.

B'Tselem points out that, under the pretext of the lack of building permits, which are virtually impossible for Palestinians to obtain in this area, the Israeli authorities refuse to recognise the village officially, regularly destroy its homes and infrastructure, and support the expansion of neighbouring Israeli settlements, in violation of international law.

Hassan said:

Most of these settlers from before October 7 are now integrated into the Israeli army. With their military uniforms, they prevent Palestinians from entering their own land. Settlers and soldiers complement each other in their aggression against the Palestinians.

Well-known settlers 

Two of the settlers occupying these outposts are well known in the Masafer Yatta region. They are Shem Tov Lusky and his father, Gadi Lusky. 

While there is no indication that they are linked to the house fire on June 24, activists have identified them in several attacks.

According to a local activist's X account, they attacked farm workers and the owner of a poultry farm in the town of Yatta, 6 kilometres north of Susya, on June 20. They were accompanied by a uniformed settler. Six Palestinians were reportedly injured and evacuated for medical treatment.

One of the two settlers was also identified by the NGO B'tselem in another attack on August 4, 2024. The report explained that three masked settlers arrived by car at Khirbet Wadi a-Rakhim, where a Palestinian community lives, a few minutes from the village of Susya.

The NGO said that the residents recognised Shem Tov Luski among them. 

Armed with clubs, the settlers insulted a family and claimed that the land belonged to them. A voice audible in the video, speaking English and recognised as that of Shem Tov Luski, threatens to rape one of the men in the family.

On June 23, Israeli settlers repeatedly targeted villages around Ramallah. These attacks degenerated into violent clashes, prompting the intervention of the Israeli army. 

In a village north of Ramallah, four Palestinians were killed by army fire, including a 13-year-old teenager. 

According to the Palestinian ministry of health, 999 people, including 202 children, have been killed in the occupied West Bank since October 7, 2023.