The Palestinian town of Hawara , south of the city of Nablus in the northern West Bank , seemed unusually like a ghost area , as it was devoid of traffic and pedestrians, while its shops and public facilities were completely closed.

This came after the Israeli army imposed, on Saturday night, a comprehensive closure on areas south of Nablus, closing roads leading to the city, towns, and villages to prevent the passage of Palestinian vehicles, according to Palestinian and Israeli sources.

The closure took place following a shooting attack by Palestinian gunmen in a speeding vehicle last night, which resulted in the injury of two Israeli soldiers in the town of Hawara, while the Abu Ali Mustafa Brigades, the military wing of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, claimed responsibility for it.

The incident, which occurred on the third day of Ramadan, raised fears among the residents of Hawara that the settlers, who gathered near the town's main street, would carry out attacks on their homes and properties, as happened last month.

Mervat Dmaidi, 50, a mother of five from the town of Hawara, told Xinhua that the town's residents found themselves last night again, without any prior notice, stuck in their homes and waiting for their unknown fate.

The woman, who lived through difficult hours last night, recalled the settler attacks last month, adding that the Israeli army "prevented her and her family members from moving to another, safer place, in light of the presence of settlers on the outskirts of the town."

In late February, Hawara was subjected to about 300 violent attacks by settlers, which consisted of burning homes and vehicles and smashing windows, following the shooting of a Palestinian gunman at a car near the town, killing two Israeli brothers.

The Palestinian Ministry of Health and the Red Crescent Society announced at the time that Sameh Al-Aqtash (37 years old) was killed, and more than 300 others were injured by suffocation from tear gas and bruises as a result of the "assault of the army and settlers."

At the time, the Israeli police reported, in a statement, the arrest of 6 settlers suspected of involvement in riots, arson and destruction of property in Huwwara, noting that among the detainees were four adults and two minors who were released and two kept under administrative detention.

Mervat Dmaidi recalls past settler attacks, saying, "We were forced to stay inside our house even after he set it on fire. We didn't know if we would survive or not because the settlers were shouting and vowing to burn us."

"No one can live in such an unprecedented security situation amid the constant threats that surround us all the time because we don't know if we will survive or not the next day," Dmaidi adds, peeking out the window.

Last night, Israeli settlers attempted to carry out attacks on the northern outskirts of Hawara, but the town's popular resistance watch committees and the Israeli army forces thwarted these attempts, according to local sources and eyewitnesses.

The young man, Firas Dmaidi, told Xinhua that dozens of settlers gathered on the outskirts of the town, trying to carry out new attacks, but the young men and families prepared themselves to prevent any danger to their property.

Firas Dmaidi, 39, complains that Israel imposes "arbitrary and punitive" measures on residents, including closing shops and preventing them from practicing the daily routine of life in the town.

The town, which has an area of 990 dunams (a dunam is equivalent to a thousand square meters), and is inhabited by about 8,000 people, incurs daily losses due to the closure of about 500 shops along the main street of Huwwara, about $1.2 million, according to Tayel Huwari.

"Merchants and businessmen in Hawara wait for the month of Ramadan from year to year," said Tayel Hawari, a businessman who owns dozens of shops in the town, considering that "the illegal and unacceptable Israeli measures made us lose the season."

Hawwari accused Israeli officials of adopting "hate" speech against the Palestinians, noting that it is natural for the Israelis, including the army and settlers, to turn the vital town of Hawwara into a "ghost" area.

Earlier this month, the Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, who is the leader of religious Zionism, called, according to what was published by the Hebrew public radio, to "erase" the Palestinian town of Hawara, south of Nablus, in the northern West Bank.

In the aftermath of last February's attack on Hawara, a delegation of heads of Western diplomatic missions in the West Bank and Jerusalem, members of the Israeli Arab Knesset (parliament), and the US Special Representative for Palestinian Affairs, Hadi Amr, visited the town and expressed their solidarity with its residents and demanded that the perpetrators be held accountable.

In this regard, Nabil Dmaidi, Mayor of Hawara, expressed his concern about the escalation of "attacks" by settlers who are taking advantage of field security incidents against Palestinians in the town and its surrounding areas.

Nabil Dmaidi told Xinhua that the settlers "will not hesitate to carry out their attacks against the Palestinians in an attempt to force them to leave their homes and properties under the protection of the Israeli army forces."

He added that the Palestinian people are facing a "right-wing" Israeli government whose officials adopt hate speech, killing and displacement against the Palestinians, and therefore, in return, we are working to call on foreign and international delegations to show solidarity with the town and its residents and to stand firm on their land.

The events come despite Palestinian and Israeli officials confirming, on March 19, after a meeting attended by American, Egyptian and Jordanian delegations in the Egyptian city of Sharm el-Sheikh, "their commitment to strengthening security, stability and peace for both Israelis and Palestinians, and they acknowledged the need to achieve calm on the ground and prevent further violence."

Tensions have escalated between Palestinians and Israelis in the West Bank, resulting in the killing of 90 Palestinians by Israeli bullets since the beginning of this year, compared to the killing of 15 people in Israel as a result of Palestinian attacks, according to official Palestinian and Israeli statistics.