Over 100 Israeli settlers attack Palestinian town in West Bank, killing one
WEST BANK
A man standing next to burnt cars points at the damage in his house, a day after an attack by Jewish settlers on the village of Jit near Nablus in the occupied West Bank that left a 23-year-old man dead and others with critical gunshot wounds, on Aug. 16, 2024.
Israeli settlers attacked the Palestinian village of Jit in the northern West Bank on Thursday, killing one Palestinian and setting fire to several homes and vehicles.
The Israeli army radio reported that more than 100 settlers stormed the town, citing an Israeli security source.
According to the Palestinian Ministry of Health and Israel's Army Radio, the attack caused serious injuries to at least one other Palestinian, as well as the destruction of four homes and six vehicles during the settlers' incursion into Jit. Eyewitnesses told Anadolu Agency that Israeli forces provided protection to the settlers during the raid.
Hamas condemned the actions as criminal and an indication of Israel's ongoing policy to erode the Palestinian presence in the West Bank.
In a statement, the Palestinian resistance group called for an insurgency and confrontation against the gangs of settlers.
"We mourn the heroic martyr Rashid Mahmoud Sada, who was killed by settler militias in the village of Jit, and we affirm that this pure blood will not go in vain and will be a curse upon the occupation," it added.
The White House condemned the incident, stating that attacks carried out by "violent settlers" against Palestinian civilians are "unacceptable and must stop." A National Security Council spokesperson told Anadolu on condition of anonymity that "Israeli authorities must take measures to protect all communities from harm" and that they should hold the perpetrators accountable for their actions.
Over the past few years, the Israeli military has conducted regular raids in the West Bank, which have escalated with the beginning of the war on Gaza on Oct. 7, 2023.
At least 632 Palestinians have since been killed and nearly 5,400 others injured by Israeli army fire in the occupied territory, according to the Health Ministry.
In a landmark advisory opinion on July 19, the International Court of Justice declared Israel's decades-long occupation of Palestinian land "illegal" and demanded the evacuation of all existing settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem.
