Israeli settlers impeded firefighting near Christian West Bank village

Israeli settlers obstructed Palestinians putting out a large blaze near a Christian village in the Israeli-occupied West Bank late on Tuesday, a local priest and Palestinian civil defence firefighters said. The incident comes amid rising strife in the West Bank, where some Western countries announced sanctions on settler groups this week over violent Israeli attacks on Palestinians.



Father Bashar Fawadleh, parish priest of Taybeh, said settlers had shot firearms and surrounded people trying to take a water tanker to the site to fight the fire.



The Israeli military also temporarily stopped firefighters reaching the blaze while they arranged security coordination, Palestinian Authority Civil Defence spokesperson Nael al-Azza said.