Benjamin Achimeir, 14, left the Malachei HaShalom farms on Friday morning to graze his sheep, according to his family. The Israeli army said it still had no news of him.
At the same time, settler attacks on Palestinian villages left one dead and dozens injured. These attacks come against a backdrop of increased violence in the Palestinian territory since the start of the war between Israel and the Islamist movement Hamas in the Gaza Strip on October 7. UN Special Rapporteur on the occupied Palestinian territories, Francesca Albanese, urged Friday “the Israeli army to authorize the deployment of a protective presence” in the territories. At least 462 Palestinians have been killed there by Israeli soldiers or settlers, the Palestinian Authority says, and 5 injured in a settler attack. The West Bank has been occupied by Israel since 1967, and the UN has called for an end to the Israeli occupation of the territory by the end of this year, but the Israeli government has refused to do so.