RAMALLAH / BETHLEHEM, West Bank / PNN/ 

Israeli settlers carried out a series of attacks across several areas of the occupied West Bank on Friday, injuring Palestinian residents and international activists, damaging homes, farmland and infrastructure, as Israeli authorities advanced plans to establish 13 new settlement outposts.

The attacks were reported in the Ramallah, Bethlehem, Jerusalem and Tulkarm governorates amid growing concern over an escalation in settler violence and settlement expansion.

Ramallah: Palestinians and foreign activists attacked

In the town of Turmus Ayya and the nearby village of Abu Falah, northeast of Ramallah, residents organized a march to help landowners reach farmland in the al-Budud area, where Palestinians say their land is under threat of seizure. The march was joined by international solidarity activists.

Local sources said dozens of Israeli settlers attacked the participants on the road connecting Abu Falah and Turmus Ayya, preventing them from reaching their land. The settlers assaulted Palestinian residents and foreign activists, injuring an elderly Palestinian and spraying several international participants with pepper spray.

In a separate incident, settlers entered the outskirts of al-Mughayyir village, northeast of Ramallah, under the protection of Israeli forces, according to local sources.

Medical and local sources also reported that three members of the Radwan family were injured after settlers attacked them in the Wadi al-Zarqa nature reserve near the village of Beitillu, northwest of Ramallah. One victim suffered a fractured arm, while the others were sprayed with pepper spray. Their mobile phones were also stolen.

Elsewhere, settlers attacked the home of the Kaabneh family near the village of al-Taybeh, east of Ramallah, during the night and early Friday morning.

According to local sources, settlers threw stones at the house and allegedly attempted to poison the family's water tank. The family has reportedly faced near-daily attacks since an Israeli settlement outpost was established close to their home about two years ago.

Bethlehem: Worshippers affected by tear gas, infrastructure damaged

In the Bethlehem governorate, several Palestinians suffered from tear gas inhalation after Israeli forces dispersed worshippers in the Abu Njeim area, southeast of Bethlehem.

Local sources said residents had performed Friday prayers on land adjacent to a tent erected by Israeli settlers as part of what Palestinians describe as efforts to seize the area for settlement expansion. Israeli forces fired tear gas and stun grenades at the worshippers, causing several cases of suffocation.

Settlers had previously erected the tent on land in Abu Njeim, which Palestinians say is intended to facilitate future settlement activity.

Further east, settlers damaged the main electricity line supplying the village of al-Minya, southeast of Bethlehem.

Residents said settlers entered the village and destroyed the power line, causing fear among local residents. It marked the second such attack within a week.

Local sources said settlers have recently intensified attacks against al-Minya residents, including assaults on homes, physical attacks and attempts to run over Palestinians with vehicles.

Jerusalem: Water spring seized

In the Jerusalem governorate, settlers took control of the Ain Rawabi spring, east of Anata, after vandalizing the site.

The Jerusalem Governorate said in a statement that the spring is the only water source serving local Bedouin communities and shepherds, providing drinking water for approximately 1,300 sheep.

Officials warned that the seizure poses a direct threat to the livelihoods of dozens of Bedouin families and forms part of broader efforts to deprive Palestinian communities of grazing land and water resources in an attempt to force them from the area.

The governorate said recent attacks in the area have included the construction of settlement access roads, attempts to steal livestock and repeated assaults on shepherds.

Tulkarm: Agricultural facilities vandalized

In the Tulkarm governorate, settlers vandalized agricultural greenhouses in the Bariya area near the Shufa military checkpoint southeast of Tulkarm.

Witnesses said settlers tore protective netting surrounding the greenhouses, causing damage to agricultural facilities owned by the Ismail family from the village of Shufa.

Residents said the attack is part of repeated assaults targeting Palestinian farmland and agricultural property, causing financial losses and restricting farmers' access to their only source of income.

Israel advances plans for 13 new settlement outposts

The latest settler attacks came as the Jerusalem Governorate warned of the implications of an Israeli Security Cabinet decision approving plans to establish 13 new settlement outposts within the Binyamin Regional Council in the occupied West Bank.

In a statement, the governorate said the decision reflects an ongoing policy aimed at expanding Israeli settlements, creating new geographical realities in the central West Bank and further isolating Jerusalem from its Palestinian surroundings.

The statement argued that Israeli governments have repeatedly accelerated settlement expansion ahead of elections, using Palestinian land and escalating tensions as part of domestic political competition.

According to the governorate, the new settlement plan focuses on two strategic corridors. One extends through areas northwest of Jerusalem and west of Ramallah along Route 60, while the second targets the eastern slopes of Ramallah toward the Jordan Valley, strengthening territorial links between existing settlement blocs.

The governorate said the project falls within the Binyamin Regional Council, one of the largest Israeli settlement jurisdictions in the occupied West Bank, stretching across extensive areas of Jerusalem and Ramallah governorates toward the western Jordan Valley.

It warned that statements by Israeli officials indicate the project is designed not only to expand settlements but also to strengthen Israeli control over major transportation routes, strategic hilltops and Area C, further fragmenting the occupied West Bank.

The Jerusalem Governorate described the plans as a serious escalation of Israel's settlement policy, saying they would further divide the West Bank, isolate Jerusalem from its Palestinian hinterland and undermine the possibility of establishing a geographically contiguous Palestinian state in violation of international law and United Nations resolutions.