Tension is still very high in the West Bank, two days after the death of a young Israeli shepherd which led to renewed violence. Two young Palestinians were shot dead Monday in the north of the occupied Palestinian territory after clashes with Israeli settlers, the Palestinian Authority Health Ministry said.
The two victims, aged 21 and 30, were killed in the locality of Khirbet al-Tawil, a hamlet outside Aqraba, a commune located about fifteen kilometers southeast of Nablus. Salah Bani Jaber, the mayor of the commune, declared that “dozens of settlers” had attacked the small town Monday evening, “attacked and shot at residents, leading to the death of two citizens”.
VIDEO. Smoke billows from vehicle, settlers attack West Bank village
For its part, the Israeli army reported, in a press release, “a violent exchange between Israeli civilians and Palestinians” in the area. These clashes occurred after a “Palestinian suspect attacked an Israeli shepherd,” the army said, adding that soldiers dispatched to the scene “operated to disperse the violent exchange.” “An initial investigation suggests that the fatal shots” which hit the two Palestinians “did not come” from the army, the latter said.
Significant reprisals after a suspicious death
On March 19, a Palestinian was killed in front of his home in the same town of Khirbet al-Tawil. The mayor of the town blamed an attack by Israeli settlers while the Israeli army suggested that one of its soldiers was behind the fatal shot.
Since the start of the war in the Gaza Strip, triggered by the October 7 Hamas attack on Israel, violence has intensified in the occupied West Bank. The death this weekend of an Israeli teenager murdered in unknown circumstances in the territory provoked major reprisals from settlers who attacked villages, burned Palestinian homes and cars over the weekend, killing at least two people.
In the West Bank, at least 468 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli soldiers or settlers since the start of the war, according to the Palestinian Authority. Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank, where more than 490,000 Israelis reside, are all illegal under international law.