Palestinian killed in attacks by Israeli settlers in occupied West Bank

The 23-year-old man was shot and several people were injured as settlers set cars ablaze and destroyed property.

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”.

The United States has frequently condemned such attacks but has stopped short of taking concrete actions to sanction accused settlers, many of who are dual US citizens.

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”.

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.