Israeli settlers torch machinery in attack on Palestinian industrial zone

Israeli settlers attacked an industrial zone in the Palestinian town of Beita, south of Nablus in the occupied West Bank, on Monday, setting fire to heavy machinery, vehicles and equipment and causing extensive damage. Dozens of settlers stormed the industrial zone and torched three excavators, along with several other vehicles and pieces of equipment belonging to local stone-cutting workshops. Ashraf Ghazaly, the owner of the heavy machinery, said more than 150 settlers took part in the attack. They threw stones at Palestinian workers before storming one of the workshops and setting fire to machinery, vehicles and equipment. Ghazaly estimated the losses at more than 3.3 million shekels (approximately $1m). One excavator had been purchased just four days earlier. "They assaulted my brother and other workers; no one was able to stand up to them or stop them," Ghazaly told Middle East Eye. New MEE newsletter: Jerusalem Dispatch Sign up to get the latest insights and analysis on Israel-Palestine, alongside Turkey Unpacked and other MEE newsletters The settlers came from the "Navitar" settlement, established on land belonging to Beita. This latest attack is part of a series of repeated settler assaults on Beita’s industrial zone, which houses stone-cutting workshops, other businesses and heavy machinery that provide a vital source of income for dozens of families and workers in the town. According to Ghazaly, two previous attacks in recent months involved settlers smashing the windows of bulldozers, excavators and offices. A campaign of intimidation Ziad Ghazaly, one of the owners of a family-run industrial facility in Beita, said that settlers used ladders to enter the quarry yard, which lies about 2.5 to three metres below ground level, before setting fire to machinery and facilities within minutes. He said the fire was extensive, despite residents' efforts to help the owners and extinguish the blaze. "The Israeli army arrived at the scene and prevented anyone from entering or leaving, which hindered attempts to bring the fire under control and assist the facility owners," he told MEE. 'The goal of these attacks is clear: to terrorise the owners and workers, forcing them to leave' - Abdul Rahman Salameh, workshop owener Abdul Rahman Salameh, who owns a stone-cutting workshop in the town, said the attack took place after most workers and business owners had left for the day. Only seven or eight young men remained, including his sons and cousins. He said settlers targeted several industrial facilities, setting fire to machinery and equipment. Around five facilities were affected, causing significant material damage. "The area is subjected to frequent provocations and threats from settlers, occurring two or three times a week. The goal of these attacks is clear: to terrorise the owners and workers, forcing them to leave so that the settlers can seize more land and expand," he said. Salameh said they remained determined to stay despite the continued assaults. He added that settlers were seeking to impose a new reality through violence and intimidation, even in Area B of the West Bank, which falls under Palestinian Authority administrative control. Livelihoods at risk The industrial zone in Beita is a vital hub for the construction industry in the northern West Bank, supporting the livelihoods of numerous families, merchants and industrial workers. Omar Diriya, chairman of the board of the Union of Stone and Marble Industry in Palestine, said the attacks target more than industrial facilities and equipment: they threaten the livelihoods of hundreds of Palestinian families. He said the zone’s facilities employ more than 500 workers, supporting hundreds of households, each with an average of six to eight members. Diriya described the repeated attacks on quarries and industrial facilities across the West Bank, including the burning of equipment, as a dangerous escalation targeting the Palestinian industrial sector. The machinery destroyed by settlers is worth more than $1m (Muhammad Ateeq/MEE) He warned that continued attacks threaten not only the property of factory owners and workers but also their lives. "The industrial sector is already grappling with difficult economic conditions exacerbated by closures, checkpoints, bypass roads and high production costs, as well as the difficulties of exporting Palestinian products and restricted access to markets," he said. The destruction of machinery further compounds the losses for facility owners, particularly as insurance companies typically do not cover damage resulting from war or conflict, he added. Diriya also criticised the lack of adequate government plans to support industrial facilities, compensate those affected and strengthen their resilience. The attack on the industrial zone in Beita comes amid an unprecedented escalation in settler attacks in the West Bank. The United Nations humanitarian affairs office (Ocha) documented 397 attacks resulting in injuries or property damage between 1 and 26 October. This was the highest monthly figure since the agency began keeping records in 2006. The Colonization and Wall Resistance Commission, an official Palestinian government agency monitoring settler violence, recorded 1,369 settler attacks overall during October, an increase of more than 111 percent compared with September.