Israeli military ups pressure in West Bank as settler violence rises
Relatives of Palestinians killed during clashes with Israeli settlers mourn at Nablus hospital in the West Bank. Photo by Alaa Badarneh/EPA
July 24 (UPI) — The Israeli military is launching a major operation in the occupied West Bank after a clash between settlers and Palestinians left six people dead on Friday.
Four Palestinian residents of the village of Tell and two Israeli soldiers were killed in the incident, after a group of settlers entered the village claiming to be on a hike.
Israeli officials said violence broke out when a Palestinian man stole a weapon from local security personnel, firing at the Israelis. Palestinian officials said the men were provoked while defending their village from armed trespassers.
The incident sparked a series of settler rampages in more than a dozen villages on Friday, the Times of Israel reported.
Hundreds of Israelis torched homes and hurled stones at Palestinians, the Times reported.
Following the Friday killings, Israeli officials said they were preparing a major “counterterrorism” operation in the West Bank, Al-Jazeera reported.
Bezalel Smotrich, the far-right Israeli finance minister, called for the demolition of Palestinian villages following the Friday killings.
“The population must be evacuated for its own protection, and these villages must be cleared of terrorist infrastructure and terrorists in order to restore deterrence and security to the area,” he told CNN.
Following the funeral for one of the Israeli soldiers killed, settlers torched buildings, homes and farms belonging to Palestinians, the Times reported.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he instructed Israel Defense Forces to take a “series of forceful steps against terror.”
In a statement, Netanyahu said his military would “act forcefully in villages that serve as terror hotspots” as well as “accelerate the regularization of farms and the establishment of new ones.”
Israeli settlements in the West Bank are illegal under international law.
“The Israeli government is pushing the West Bank towards explosion,” said Ayman Safadi, Jordan’s foreign minister, in a statement. “Its blatant violations of the historical and legal status quo at Jerusalem’s Holy Sites are illegal and dangerous provocations. They are pushing the region towards another disastrous conflict that will reverberate beyond the occupied Palestinian territories.”
