Tensions high in West Bank after deadly Israeli settler rampage

Israeli settlers have carried out at least 300 attacks, including shootings and arson, in a rampage through Palestinian villages in the Nablus area of the occupied West Bank, Palestinian officials say, in what has been described as a “pogrom”.

A 37-year-old Palestinian man identified as Samih al-Aqtash was shot in the stomach on Sunday night by settlers protected by the Israeli army in the village of Zaatara south of Nablus. He died of his injuries. The father of five returned home five days ago after volunteering to help earthquake survivors in Turkey.

At least 390 Palestinians were injured in the settler rampage across the villages of Huwara, Zaatara, Burin and Asira al-Qibliya – all south of Nablus, the Palestinian Red Crescent said, adding that the majority were wounded from tear gas fired by the Israeli army as well as smoke inhalation from widespread fires set by the settlers.

Palestinian media reported stabbings and attacks with metal rods and rocks. The Palestinian Ministry of Health said one person was in hospital after being beaten in the head with a rock, causing fractures to the skull. Another person suffered a beating with a metal rod to the face.

At least 30 Palestinian homes and 100 cars were set on fire by settlers, Ghassan Daghlas, the Palestinian Authority’s head of settlement monitoring for the northern West Bank, told Al Jazeera. There were no burn injuries to residents.

Daghlas said the attack was “unprecedented in terms of size and the short amount of time in which it took place,” adding that the Israeli army was a “partner” in the attacks.

Israel on Monday deployed hundreds more soldiers to the West Bank. Huwara, the main southern entrance into Nablus, was closed.

On Monday afternoon, dozens of armed settlers gathered in Huwara under Israeli army protection, raising fears of another attack.

Widespread condemnation

The settlers carried out their rampage shortly after two Israeli settlers were killed in a shooting by a Palestinian man in Huwara. The settlers were two brothers in their 20s who lived in the illegal settlement of Har Bracha south of Nablus.

“We hold the occupation authorities fully responsible for these heinous crimes, which reflect a systematic policy practiced by the Israeli government, whose ministers demonstrate their support for those crimes in violation of international laws,” he said, adding that a ministerial committee will be formed to compensate the people affected.

The Ramallah-based Al Haq rights groups said the attack was the “result of decades long impunity enjoyed by Israel & settlers for international crimes committed against Palestinians”.

Sami Abu Shahadeh, a Palestinian politician in the Israeli parliament, said: “The Zionist pogrom taking place in Huwara is a consequence of the Israeli government’s Jewish supremacist political platform.”

The Israeli rights groups Peace Now and B’Tselem also described the attacks as a settler “pogrom” supported by the Israeli government.

A number of foreign governments, including the United States and France, also issued condemnations on the attacks.