BETHLEHEM: Israeli occupation forces Saturday evening attacked Palestinians' houses in Khalayel al-Louz locality, southeast of the occupied West Bank city of Bethlehem, according to local sources. Mahmoud Sweis told WAFA that a group of colonists, under military escort, grazed their sheep on a tract of land cultivated with olive and almond trees, prompting the Palestinian landowners to attempt to fend off the attack. The soldiers opened volleys of live ammunition and tear gas canisters towards the Palestinians, causing several suffocation cases. Sweis added that the assailants, under military protection, besieged several houses in the locality, intimidating the residents, especially women and children. Colonists' violence against Palestinians and their property is routine in the West Bank and is rarely prosecuted by Israeli authorities. Colonists' violence includes property and mosque arsons, stone-throwing, uprooting of crops and olive trees, and attacks on vulnerable homes, among others. Over 700,000 Israeli colonists are living in colonies across occupied East Jerusalem and the West Bank in violation of international law. Source: Palestine News and Information Agency – WAFA