The settlers have, among other things, set fire to apartments and cars. The background of the revenge attacks is Tuesday’s shooting, claimed by Hamas, in which four Israelis died.
Tensions in the Israeli-occupied West Bank increased even more on Wednesday.
Israeli settlers carried out several revenge attacks on Palestinian villages after Tuesday’s shooting attack in the occupied West Bank. The online media The Times of Israel, the newspaper Haaretz and the news agencies AP and Reuters reported on the matter, among others.
On Wednesday evening, the Israeli army carried out an aerial attack in the city of Jenin in the northern part of the West Bank. According to the army, the attack was aimed at Palestinian gunmen who opened fire at an Israeli checkpoint. According to the army, the men were responsible for several shootings that took place on the West Bank.
It was the first targeted killing airstrike in the West Bank since the second Palestinian uprising, which ended in 2005.
Settlers attacked several Palestinian villages
The colonists invaded several villages in the northern part of Länsiranta between Tuesday and the night before Wednesday. According to Palestinian residents, the settlers, among other things, set fire to cars, apartments and fields and threw stones.
On Wednesday, about 400 settlers stormed the town of Turmus Ayya, according to residents, and set fire to property there as well.
Clashes between the Palestinians and the Israeli army were also seen in the villages.
According to the Palestinian health authorities, a 27-year-old Palestinian man was shot dead in Turmus Ayya during clashes. In addition, four others were injured in the shooting.
According to the Israeli police, residents of Turmus Ayya threw stones and launched fireworks at the police. According to Haaretz’s police source, the shooter was likely an Israeli police officer.
According to the Israeli media, three Israelis have been arrested in connection with the nighttime attacks.
According to the Palestinian authorities, at least 50 Palestinians were injured in the clashes.
As recently as Wednesday evening, about a hundred settlers attacked Palestinians in the village of Urif. According to The Times of Israel, four settlers were injured when Palestinians threw stones.
The cycle of revenge flared up again
On Tuesday, two Palestinian gunmen shot dead four Israelis on the outskirts of the Eli settlement in the West Bank. Two of the victims were 17 years old. The attack was claimed by the extremist organization Hamas.
According to Hamas, Tuesday’s attack was revenge for the Israeli army’s raid on the city of Jenin on Monday.
Six Palestinians were killed in the raid, one of whom was 15 years old. Almost a hundred Palestinians were wounded. For the first time in about twenty years, Israel used, among other things, a helicopter in exceptionally violent clashes.
The Israeli government responded to Tuesday’s attack by declaring that the expansion of the Eli settlement by a thousand apartments will immediately begin to be promoted. With the shooting incident, the Israeli army also strengthened its forces in the West Bank.
On Wednesday, the United States condemned both the violence perpetrated by settlers and Israel’s decision to build new settlements.
Updated on 21.6. at 22:07: Added information about the Israeli drone strike.