Photos show West Bank Palestinians keeping watch at night as settler violence grows

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SINJIL, West Bank (AP) — As darkness fell over the town of Sinjil in the occupied West Bank, its Palestinian residents gathered on a roadside overlooking a nearby valley. Together, they scanned the area with flashlights, searching for any signs that Israeli settlers might be approaching.

The residents are part of a volunteer night watch in Sinjil, about 15 kilometers (10 miles) northeast of Ramallah, where Palestinians say they face frequent settler attacks. When someone spots a group of settlers, they alert others by phone, mobilizing additional residents to the area to confront and push the settlers back.

On this night, the volunteer watchmen saw a group of masked settlers descending from hillside toward the town. When others from Sinjil joined to protect the area, some set the brush by the roadside ablaze, in an effort to block their advance.

Settlers threw stones and used slingshots to launch objects at Palestinian residents, who responded in kind.

The sound of gunfire later sent residents running for cover.

“This is another episode in the series of settlers’ attacks against Sinjil,” Mayor Moataz Tawafsha said.

Violence in the West Bank has surged since the start of the Israel-Hamas war on Oct. 7, 2023, with an increase in attacks by Israeli settlers against Palestinians and repeated Israeli military raids.

For those who live in Sinjil, the nightly watches have become a part of daily life, with no government or security force willing to protect them.

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This is a photo gallery curated by AP photo editors.