JERUSALEM: Israeli settlers killed two Palestinians near Nablus in the occupied West Bank on Monday, according to Palestinian officials.
The official Palestinian news agency Wafa quoted the Palestinian health ministry officials who identified the victims as Abdulrahman Maher Bani Fadel, 30, and Mohammed Ashraf Bani Jame, 21.
Salah Bani Jaber, the mayor of Aqraba, said “dozens of settlers attacked” the nearby town of Khirbet al-Tawil late on Monday.
They “assaulted residents and fired at people in the hamlet leading to the death of two citizens,” the mayor said and added “the occupation army is still holding the bodies.”
In a statement, the Israeli army said “an initial inquiry suggests that the fatal shootings did not originate from the IDF.”
It said earlier in the day, the army received a report regarding a Palestinian suspect who attacked an Israeli shepherd in the area of Gitit.
“A violent exchange developed between Israeli civilians and Palestinians in the area. IDF soldiers were dispatched to the scene and operated to disperse the violent exchange. “During the incident, two Palestinians were reportedly killed.”
It is to mention here that on Friday, Benjamin Achimeir, a 14-year-old Israeli shepherd went missing from the Malachi Hashalom outpost near Ramallah in the West Bank. Achimeir was later found dead nearby on Saturday. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu termed the killing as a “heinous murder”.
Hundreds of settlers backed by Israeli troops then launched raids on nearby towns that left at least two Palestinians dead and dozens wounded.
Israel had occupied the West Bank in 1967. The area has seen a surge in violence since early 2023, particularly after the Israel-Hamas war.
According to official Palestinian sources, at least 468 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli forces or settlers across the West Bank since October 7.
