West Bank villages attacked as Israeli’s body found
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 that a missing teen had been killed and his body found.
Witnesses said settlers assaulted a number of communities.
The Israeli military said dozens of people, Palestinians and Israelis, were injured in confrontations Saturday in several locations, with shots fired and rocks thrown. Several companies with the defense forces were deployed, and “all of the incidents have concluded,” the military asserted.
The disappearance of the 14-year-old Israeli, Binyamin Achimair, sparked attacks by settlers on Palestinian villages Friday and Saturday. In a statement on social media, Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant 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 other people were wounded in an attack on the village of Al Mughayyir, Palestinian health officials said. On Saturday, Israeli troops delayed for several hours the ambulance carrying the 26year-old man’s body for burial, witnesses said.
Dozens of Israeli settlers returned to the village’s outskirts 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 had gathered.
“They entered the house and burned it and burned cars, as you can see,” said Akef Abu Allu, 42, looking at his blackened two-story home in Al Mughayyir.
In nearby Douma, Israeli settlers set fire to about 15 homes and 10 farms, said the head of the village council, Slieman Dawabsheh.
“The army came, but unfortunately, the army were protecting the settlers,” he said, asserting that soldiers fired tear gas and rubber bullets at Palestinians.
The Israeli military didn’t respond to questions. The Palestinian Red Crescent said six people were injured by gunfire but did not say who had fired.
The Israeli human rights group Yesh Din 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. The war was sparked by a Hamas attack on southern Israel in which at least 1,200 people were killed and about 240 taken hostage.
More than 33,000 Palestinians in Gaza have been killed in Israel’s bombardments and ground attacks, according to Gaza health officials.
More than 460 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli fire in the West Bank since Oct. 7, most in clashes sparked by army raids but some by vigilante settlers.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu condemned the killing of the teenager.
“We will get to the murderers and their helpers as we do to anyone who harms the citizens of the state of Israel,” he said in a statement. There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the killing.
According to Israeli media, the teen was last seen leaving the settler outpost of Malachei Shalom early Friday to tend to livestock. Israel’s Channel 13 TV reported that his body was discovered by a drone. The broadcaster said he was not shot but did not elaborate.
In 2014, the abduction and killing of three Israeli teens in the West Bank escalated tensions and eventually ignited a 50-day IsraelHamas war in Gaza, at the time the deadliest round of fighting between the two sides.