WEST BANK: A Palestinian man was tragically killed on Wednesday in an occupied West Bank village as Israeli attackers targeted residents and property, according to the Palestinian health ministry.
The incident occurred shortly after mourners had held a funeral for a teenager killed in a Palestinian shooting that targeted Israelis in a nearby area. The village of Turmus Ayya witnessed around 200 settlers attacking Palestinians, with scorched homes, damaged buildings, and wounded individuals being evacuated by ambulance.
Resident Awad Abu Samra stated that settlers shot at them, and when the police and Israeli army arrived, they fired rubber bullets and tear gas. The Israeli military has not yet responded to inquiries regarding the violence. Earlier, a funeral had taken place in the neighboring Israeli settlement of Shilo for 17-year-old Nahman Mordof, one of the four Israelis killed in an attack on a petrol station near the Eli settlement.
Six Palestinians Killed in Israeli Army Raid Yesterday
In Jenin, schoolgirls carried the body of their classmate, 15-year-old Sadil Naghnaghiya, who was killed during an Israeli army raid on the city. The raid resulted in the death of six other Palestinians, including a 15-year-old boy and a militant. Hamas spokesperson Hazem Qassem described the attack against Israelis as a response to the “crimes of the occupation” in Jenin and other areas.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office announced that settlement expansion in Eli would be expedited in response to the attack. Netanyahu stated, “Our answer to terrorism is to strike at it forcefully and build up our country.” Israel has occupied the West Bank since the Six-Day War in 1967, with the territory currently hosting approximately 490,000 Israelis living in settlements deemed illegal under international law.
The shooting incident led to reprisal attacks by Jewish settlers against residents of the nearby Palestinian town of Huwara. Several dozen people were wounded, and olive groves were set on fire. Additional settler attacks were reported in Al-Lubban al-Sharqiya and Beit Furik. The Israeli army entered Orif village to map the homes of the shooters, a step often preceding home demolitions. Critics argue that such policies amount to collective punishment and render non-combatants, including children, homeless.
The surge in violence related to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict this year has claimed the lives of at least 171 Palestinians, 25 Israelis, a Ukrainian, and an Italian. The tally includes both combatants and civilians, with three members of the Arab minority among the Israeli casualties.
