Description

QALQILIYA (Ma’an) -- Extremist Israeli settlers posted a sign threatening to occupy the village of Azzun in the northern West Bank district of Qaliqiliya on Tuesday.

Writing in Arabic at the village entrance, settlers hanged a banner reading "On Tuesday the village will become ours."

The banner was signed by "The Women of Samaria (the Jewish biblical term for the northern West Bank)," a far right settler organization.

The threat follows on from an invitation through various Israeli media outlets by extremists on Monday to join a demonstration at the entrance of Azzun, which they said was to protest "the ongoing stone attacks" on settlers' vehicles near the town.

Earlier in June Israeli forces closed down the village by placing large cement blocks at its entrance after alleging young men from the village had been throwing stones at settlers' cars.

Meanwhile, settlers slashed the tires of Palestinian cars in the Jerusalem village of Abu Ghosh in an apparent "price tag" attack following the Israeli cabinet's approval of new sanctions against such attacks, Israeli daily Ynet reported.

The group also sprayed hate graffiti across the village, including "Arabs Out" and "racism or assimilation," the news site reported.

The UN has said it has become concerned with the rise of settler violence against Palestinians, and criticized Israel for failing to properly bring complaints of violence and assaults to trial.

Yesh Din, an Israeli rights group, says seldom do any complaints filed by Palestinians against Israeli settlers result in indictments.