NABLUS, Israeli settlers today destroyed water pipes in the village of as-Sawiya to the south of the occupied West Bank city of Nablus and plugged a water spring that supplies the village with water, according to sources.

Ghassan Daghlas, who monitors settlement activities in the northern West Bank, said that settlers from the illegal Israeli settlement of Eli destroyed water pipes and filled in a water spring used to feed the village with water, which caused a water crisis in the area.

Israeli settlers’ vandalism in the occupied West Bank is routine and is done with full backing by the Israeli authorities, said the Israeli human rights group B’Tselem.

“Settler violence and vandalism take place with full backing by the Israeli authorities. Sometimes soldiers take part in the assault; at other times, they stand idly by. The police make no substantial effort to investigate the incidents, nor takes measures to prevent them or stop them in real-time,” it said.

Israel benefits from the repercussions, as settler violence has gradually dispossessed Palestinians of more and more areas in the West Bank, paving the way for a state takeover of land and resources, said B’Tselem.

Source: Palestine News & Info Agency