Israeli attack on industrial zone in the West Bank caused $3 million in damage

According to the information given to the AA correspondent by local sources and eyewitnesses, approximately 200 masked, uniformed and armed Israelis raided the industrial zone at around 16:00 and surrounded the area from several arms.

In the attack, which coincided with the end of working hours, 4 Palestinian workers remaining in the area were beaten with sticks, while stone crushing facilities, work machines and vehicles were set on fire.

Palestinian Abdurrahim Selamet, whose facility was damaged in the attack, said that the Israeli group acted in an organized manner, some of the attackers beat the workers and threatened the security guards with weapons, while others set fire to the facilities.

Stating that there was an arson attack in the region for the second time, Selamet emphasized that they will not leave their lands despite the restrictions and heavy financial losses they are exposed to.

Beyta Municipality officials announced that the financial damage caused by the arson attack on industrial facilities, construction equipment and vehicles reached 10 million shekels (approximately 3 million dollars).

"Attacks target Palestinians' livelihoods"

Omer Diriyye, President of the Palestinian Stone and Marble Industrialists' Association, stated that Palestinian businesses, which are already operating in difficult conditions due to Israel's military restrictions and increasing production costs, are suffering greater economic losses with such attacks.

Diriyye argued that the attacks on industrial facilities aimed to force Palestinian producers and workers to migrate by depriving them of their livelihood.

Emphasizing that the attacks are no longer limited to the destruction of property, but also directly threaten the life safety of workers, Diriyye said, "These attacks on industrial facilities are a crime committed in front of the eyes of the world and targeting the livelihood of Palestinians." he said.

Raids and attacks against Palestinians in the occupied West Bank by the Israeli army and the Israelis who usurped Palestinian lands have increased since October 2023, when the attacks on the Gaza Strip began.

According to Palestinian data, during this period, more than 1220 Palestinians lost their lives in the West Bank, more than 13 thousand 700 people were injured, and more than 26 thousand people were detained.