Teen found dead; West Bank settlers attack Palestinians
Al-MUGHAYYIR, West Bank — Israeli settlers in the occupied West Bank went on the largest rampage against Palestinians there since the war in Gaza began, as Israel’s army said Saturday the body of a missing Israeli teen was found after he was killed in a “terrorist attack.” Witnesses said settlers assaulted a number of communities.
The Israeli military said dozens of people were injured in confrontations in several locations, with shots fired and rocks thrown. It did not specify how many Palestinians and Israelis were hurt.
The disappearance of 14year-old Binyamin Achimair sparked the attacks on Palestinian villages on Friday and Saturday. Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant in a statement on social media urged people not to take the law into their own hands in the territory where tensions have simmered for months.
On Friday, Palestinian Jehad Abu Alia was killed and 25 others were wounded in the attack on al-Mughayyir village, Palestinian health officials said. On Saturday, Israeli troops delayed for several hours the ambulance carrying the 26-year-old man’s body for burial, witnesses said.
Dozens of Israeli settlers returned to the village’s outskirts on Saturday, burning 12 homes and several cars. The Palestinian Health Ministry said three people from the village were injured, one critically. Border police fired tear gas toward villagers who gathered, trying to disperse them.
“They entered the house and burned it and burned cars, as you can see,” 42-yearold Akef Abu Allu said, looking at his blackened two-story home in al-Mughayyir.
In the nearby village of Douma, Israeli settlers set fire to around 15 homes and 10 farms, the head of the local village council, Slieman Dawabsheh, said.
“The army came but unfortunately, the army were protecting the settlers,” he said, asserting that it fired tear gas and rubber bullets at Palestinians trying to confront and expel them.
The Palestinian Red Crescent said six people were injured by gunfire but did not say who fired.
The Israeli human rights group Yesh Din in a statement said at least 10 villages in the West Bank were attacked by Israeli settlers, with homes and vehicles damaged.
Tensions in the West Bank have been especially high since the outbreak of the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza on Oct. 7.
Since then, Hamas has been trying to ignite other fronts, including in the West Bank, in hopes of exerting more pressure on Israel.