Jewish settlers attack Bedouin community near Jerusalem, vandalise property Jewish settlers attacked the Bedouin community of Khilat al-Sidra, near the town of Mikhmas northeast of occupied Jerusalem, on Sunday evening, vandalising residents’ property, Palestinian officials said. The Jerusalem Governorate said around 15 settlers raided the community and stole solar-powered lighting equipment. It said the same community had come under a similar attack the previous night, when settlers threw stones at homes. The governorate said Khilat al-Sidra is encircled by six illegal settlement outposts, from which groups of settlers repeatedly launch attacks in an effort to intimidate residents and force them off their land. “These attacks are part of a systematic policy aimed at emptying Bedouin communities around Jerusalem of their inhabitants,” the governorate said, calling for urgent protection for the residents. The assault comes amid a surge in settler violence across the occupied West Bank. According to the Wall and Settlement Resistance Commission, Israeli forces and settlers carried out 2,144 attacks in November alone. The commission said the Israeli army was responsible for 1,523 of those attacks, while settlers carried out 621. The highest number of incidents was recorded in Ramallah and al-Bireh, with 360 attacks, followed by Hebron with 348, Bethlehem with 342 and Nablus with 334. Rights groups say settler violence, often carried out under the protection of Israeli forces, has intensified alongside Israel’s ongoing assault on Gaza, further entrenching the displacement of Palestinian communities across the West Bank.