Israeli occupiers attack Palestinian American’s home, torch 3 vehicles in West Bank

Armed Israeli occupiers attacked the home of a Palestinian American and set three vehicles on fire during an overnight raid on a village east of Ramallah in the occupied West Bank, he told Anadolu on Sunday.

Mustafa Zaatar said dozens of Israeli occupiers entered Abu Falah village around 1.30 am, surrounded his home and vandalized the property before torching the vehicles.

Zaatar said he watched the attack unfold through surveillance cameras installed around the house.

“Within about 10 minutes, we saw the cars go up in flames,” he added.

Residents later confronted the occupiers and put out the fires, he added, saying villagers feared being shot.

Zaatar said two Palestinians were killed during an attack by Israeli occupiers in the same area last year.

“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 it had provided him no protection.

“I am an American citizen, but I have not felt that it protected me or offered me anything,” he said.

Family members in the US contacted the American consulate, which later reached out to Zaatar, he said.

He asked consular officials to visit his home to assess the damage and the threats facing him.

In August, US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee described occupier violence against Palestinians across the occupied West Bank as “terrorism,” warning that such violence harms Israel’s image.

Israeli military and occupier attacks in the West Bank have intensified since the Gaza war began in October 2023.

At least 1,206 Palestinians, including 254 children, have been killed, about 13,350 wounded and more than 24,600 arrested during that period, according to official Palestinian figures.