Two Palestinian brothers were kidnapped by Jewish settlers yesterday from the village of Kubar, north-west of Ramallah, Quds Press has reported.

A group of settlers from the illegal settlement of Halamish brutally attacked Samir Zeebar, the father of the young men, before kidnapping Abdul Fattah and Mahmoud, who are both in their 20s.

The mayor of Kubar, Izzat Badwan, told Wafa news agency that ten armed settlers attacked the three men while they were ploughing their land. He added that Abdul Fattah and Mahmoud are apparently being “questioned” inside the settlement.

Jewish settlements in the occupied Palestinian territories of the West Bank and East Jerusalem have increased in number and size significantly since 1967. Despite being illegal under international law, at the end of 2019 there were more than 463,000 settlers living in the West Bank and another 300,000 in East Jerusalem.

Violent acts by the settlers from countries outside Israel, such as the US for example, have also increased. They frequently vandalise Palestinian homes and businesses, attack mosques and churches with fire bombs, throw stones and burn olive trees and other crops.