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NABLUS (Ma'an) -- Dozens of Israeli settlers raided Palestinian villages in the Nablus district on Thursday, officials and witnesses said.

Ghassan Daghlas, who monitors settlement activity in the northern West Bank, told Ma'an that over 100 armed settlers entered Sebastia and an area between Aqraba and Beita villages.

Locals said that Israeli military vehicles deployed in Huwwara village near a checkpoint of the same name to protect the settlers.

It is unclear why the settlers were present in the area.

An Israeli army spokeswoman told Ma'an she was not aware of the incident.

However, she added that Thursday is a holiday in Israel, "so it's possible that there are many more travelers in the area because the army opens up training grounds for tourists to travel on."

Thursday is Independence Day, which marks the establishment of the State of Israel following the expulsion of 750,000 Palestinians from their homes in what became Israel.

The villages south of Nablus are a frequent site of settler violence and Palestinian clashes with Israeli forces as they are located beside the notoriously violent Israeli settlement of Yitzhar.

Settlers frequently attack locals and prevent farmers from reaching their lands, in addition to attacks on olive trees themselves.

Settler violence against Palestinians and their property in the occupied West Bank is systematic and ignored by Israeli authorities, who rarelyintervene in the violent attacks or prosecute the perpetrators.

In 2014, there were 324 incidents of settler violence against Palestinians in the occupied West Bank, according to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.

Over 500,000 Israeli settlers live in the occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, in contravention of international law.