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.
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”.
‘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 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.
