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STORY: :: West Bank residents say Israeli settlers torched cars and shot at locals:: Al-Bireh, West Bank:: November 4, 2024 :: Al-Muntaser Billah Omar, Local resident "They burned my car, my colleague's car, my brother's car, there are cars inside that they burned, by a petrol tank, which thank God was spared, and our neighbors, they burned their houses and cars.":: Ihab al-Zaben, Local resident " I heard movement, and looked out and saw around 10 to 12 settlers, each one carrying something, some sort of substance they were pouring on cars and setting it on fire, I yelled at them, but they did not care, and went on burning cars, and going on their way. When we came down to try to extinguish the fire, they started shooting at us."Around a dozen attackers, masked and carrying petrol bombs, targeted the Al-Bireh area, which adjoins Ramallah, at around 3 a.m. (0100 GMT), torching the cars in a matter of minutes, they said.The facade of a residential building was left blackened by fires set in cars that had been parked outside.The Israeli police and the Shin Bet security agency were investigating after receiving a report that a number of Palestinian cars had been burned, the Israeli police spokesperson said in a statement.Settler violence against Palestinian communities in the West Bank has drawn condemnation internationally and led to sanctions on violent settlers by some governments, notably the United States, which has urged Israel to do more to stop the attacks.The Palestinian Authority, based in Ramallah, condemned "the brutal attack by settler militias." Its Ministry of Foreign Affairs called for "comprehensive sanctions targeting the entire settler-colonial system."Hamas official Abdul Rahman Shadid said the attack represented an escalation by settlers and required "escalating the confrontation and confronting these crimes," a statement by the Palestinian group said.