Preparing for WAR: Israeli settlers in West Bank buy high-caliber rifles

11/11/2024 / By Belle Carter

Arabic media outlet Masar News, in a recent report, confirmed that Israeli settlers are buying hundreds of high-caliber rifles as they prepare for an imminent war between their nation and the Palestinians in the West Bank.

The report, which was in Arabic, confirmed that what they were doing was indicative of a major shift in the settlers’ strategy, as they considered military scenarios instead of previous perceptions that may be wrong.

This shows the West Bank settlers’ readiness for war as the conflict widens in the region.

The report further indicated Israel’s Samaria Regional Council in West Bank leader Yossi Dagan has already purchased more than 500 rifles to arm emergency security teams as well as dozens of advanced sniper rifles after raising almost one million shekels ($270,000) from supporters of the Council around the world. The group is looking into upgrading their equipment in preparation for a future war with Palestinians.

Moreover, National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir last month announced that hundreds of thousands of firearms have been distributed among Jewish settlers in the West Bank.

“Over 120,000 weapons were distributed to eligible citizens, while tens of thousands more received conditional approvals,” he said on his X account. “We intend to continue arming Israel. That’s what we did, and that’s what we’ll continue to do!”

He also promised to “continue to work with all our might for complete victory, in Gaza, Lebanon, Iran, and wherever our enemy steps foot until all the abductees are returned home.”

Meanwhile, Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich called for Israel to effectively annex the West Bank and Gaza Strip.

During the Middle East Summit, a conference in Jerusalem for U.S. Evangelicals, Smotrich said that Israel must make an “unequivocal … statement to the Arabs and the entire world that a Palestinian state will not be established” as he pushed for the establishment of new settlements deep inside Palestinian vicinities. He also called for the expulsion of Palestinians who do not want to be ruled by Jewish leaders.

He added that bringing civilians to live on Palestinian land is crucial for maintaining permanent Jewish control.

“Where there is no civilian presence, there is no long-term military presence … there is no security, and there is an existential threat to the State of Israel and its citizens, and we must not allow this,” he said.

Armed Israeli settlers burn Palestinian homes, cars in West Bank

Earlier this month, Israeli settlers in West Bank, who appeared to be armed, torched several homes, vehicles and olive trees across the Palestinian territory.

According to local news agency Wafa, the settlers opened fire at civil defense search-and-rescue workers attempting to extinguish the flames.

Settlers later set fire to a parking lot and scrawled offensive graffiti on walls in the nearby town of Deir Dibwan, east of Ramallah, before fleeing.

?BREAKING: A horrific night in Ramallah, in the West Bank.

Hundreds of Israeli terrorist settlers launched a brutal attack on the city of Ramallah, setting fire to numerous Palestinian homes and vehicles.

After setting Palestinian homes and cars on fire, they moved to the… pic.twitter.com/KZ6u37JZLh

— Ihab Hassan (@IhabHassane) November 4, 2024

A resident named Mohammed Amr told the news outlet Middle East Eye (MEE) that he woke up at the wee hours of the morning to noises of commotion near the building where he lives. He looked out of the window and saw a group of people pouring flammable material and burning vehicles.

“The settlers infiltrated from the Beit El settlement and came through the military checkpoint that separates it from the city of al-Bireh. Then they walked through the agricultural lands to reach the buildings adjacent to it, where I saw at least eight to ten settlers,” he said.

He continued saying that the settlers attempted to storm homes, but Palestinian residents gathered to prevent them, so they moved on to the neighboring city.

“Our situation is like all Palestinian cities that are exposed to settler terrorism,” he lamented. (Related: Armed Israeli settlers attack West Bank village, burning down properties and killing a young Palestinian man.)

Meanwhile, Al-Bireh Mayor Robin al-Khatib described the event as dangerous. He told MEE that the arrival of settlers to residential buildings and burning their surroundings is a “dangerous indicator of the possibility of them reaching the heart of al-Bireh or Ramallah and carrying out larger attacks.”

In response, the Iran-backed militant group Hamas called for escalation against settlers, saying Palestinians should confront them with “all means of resistance” following the attack.

Settler attacks continued into Monday morning and were reported across the West Bank.

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