A Palestinian man has
been killed and several people were injured after dozens of Israeli
settlers went on a rampage and attacked a village in the
occupied West Bank, drawing widespread condemnation.
The Palestinian Health
Ministry said on Friday that 23-year-old Mahmoud Abdel Qader Sadda was shot and
another Palestinian suffered critical gunshot wounds to the chest in the attack
on the village of Jit, east of Qalqilya.
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Dozens of masked Israeli settlers, some armed,
hurled rocks and Molotov cocktails as they stormed the village, setting fire to
several cars and destroying property. They also attacked the town of Huwara.
Violence by Israeli
settlers against Palestinians in the West Bank has spiked since
Israel’s war on Gaza began in October.
Between October 7 and
August 12 this year, the United Nations Office for the Coordination of
Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) recorded some 1,250 Israeli settler attacks against
Palestinians, resulting in at least 120 deaths, and 1,000 incidents of property
damage.
The Israeli anti-settlement group, Peace Now, called the latest
attacks “pure settler terrorism – supported by the state, sponsored by our
government”.
The Mistaclim organisation, which is made up of Israelis opposed
to the occupation of Palestinian territory, said that “contrary to the
publication in the news, this is not a nationalist event but a terrorist
attack”.
Israeli
crowds storm Al-Aqsa Mosque, West Bank villages on Jewish holiday
|
‘Unacceptable’
The White House said that attacks by settlers were “unacceptable
and must stop”.
US ambassador to Israel
Jack Lew slammed the violent attack. “These attacks must stop and the criminals
be held to account,” he said on social media platform X.
The United States has frequently condemned such attacks but has
stopped short of taking concrete actions to sanction accused settlers, many of
whom are dual
US citizens.
Josep Borrell, the
European Union’s foreign policy chief, urged Israel to stop “unacceptable
actions” by settlers immediately, confirming his intention to introduce
proposals for sanctions against “violent settlers’ enablers”, including members
of the Israeli government.
“Day after day, in an
almost total impunity, Israeli settlers fuel violence in the occupied West
Bank, contributing to endanger any chance of peace,” he posted on X.
Germany and France also condemned the violence as “unacceptable”.
“Palestinians have a right to live in safety. Israel has an
obligation to protect Palestinians in the West Bank,” the German Foreign
Ministry posted on X.
French Foreign Minister Stephane Sejourne said that “any action
that could jeopardise the negotiation process towards a ceasefire deal is
unacceptable”.
Francesca Albanese, the UN’s special rapporteur on the human
rights situation in the occupied Palestinian territory, said “sanctions must be
imposed” on the Israeli government over the violence.
Israeli
settlers set fire to olive groves in the occupied West Bank | AJ #Shorts
|
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said those who
participated in the attacks would be held accountable to the fullest extent of
the law, according to a statement from his office. The Israeli military said it
was investigating.
Far-right finance minister Bezalel Smotrich said the attacks were
in “no way related to the settlement and the settlers”.
“They are criminals who should be dealt with by the law
enforcement authorities with the full severity of the law,” he posted on X.
Smotrich has pushed for more Israeli
settlements in the occupied West Bank – which are illegal under
international law.
Reporting from Amman, Jordan, Al Jazeera’s Hamdah Salhut noted the
“change in tone from Smotrich, who is a known ultranationalist who lives in an
illegal settlement himself and is often a defender of these armed groups”.
Salhut said such attacks are often “carried out under the
protection of the Israeli military, and Palestinians in the occupied West Bank
are left defenceless”.
The Palestinian Foreign Ministry said in a
statement that “the armed collective attack” was tantamount to “organised state
terrorism”.
“We demand the imposition of deterrent sanctions
on the racist colonial system, the dismantling of the terrorist settler
militias, and the prosecution of their members,” the statement said.
Hamas said the assault
was part of Israel’s “fascist extermination plans”, calling on the West Bank to
“rise up in anger”.
Israel’s “policy of
incursions, assassinations and unleashing settler gangs will only increase our
people’s adherence to their land and holy sites”, it added.
What
life is like for Palestinians living under Israeli occupation | The Stream
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