Occupied West Bank: 4 Palestinians, one Israeli killed in shooting

Four Palestinians and one Israeli were killed in a shooting incident in the occupied West Bank yesterday, according to Israeli and Palestinian health officials.

The Israeli military said it had been dispatched to the area, southwest of the Palestinian city of Nablus, after re-ports of an attack on Israeli civilians who were hiking there. The military said “a Palestinian had stolen a weapon from local security personnel and fired at the Israeli civilians”.

Palestinian officials said Palestinians from the West Bank town of Tal had been attacked by the Israeli civilians and that four had been shot dead and four wounded by both Israeli civilians and Israeli soldiers.

A temporary closure was imposed on the city of Nablus and the Tal area, while Israeli troops set up roadblocks and pursued the assailants, the military said.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed a forceful response. He ordered the establishment of new set-tler outposts in the occupied West Bank

Violence in the West Bank has surged since the Gaza war began on October 7, 2023.

Yesterday’s violence erupted near the settlement of Havat Gilad and the neighbouring Palestinian village of Tell, in territory occupied by Israel since 1967.

Excluding east Jerusalem, more than 500,000 Israelis live in settlements in the West Bank alongside around three million Palestinians.