Netanyahu condemns 'criminal acts of violence' by settlers in West Bank villages

Israeli settlers jump over the garden wall as they make their way towards a Palestinian home under construction in the village of Qusra, which has faced escalating settler violence over the past month. © Jaafar Ashtiyeh, AFP

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Saturday condemned what he called "criminal acts of violence" perpetrated by Israeli settlers in two Palestinian villages. Earlier in August, a group of settlers blocked supplies from entering Palestinian houses on the outskirts of Qusra and attacked a Palestinian family and a foreign media crew in nearby Jalud.

Dozens of Israeli settlers attacked the Palestinian village of Qusra in the northern occupied West Bank on Saturday after nearly three weeks of tension in the area, drawing rare condemnation from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.