Palestinian brothers killed after being run over by Israeli settler in West Bank

Two Palestinian brothers in their thirties were killed after an Israeli settler ran them over with his car south of Nablus in the occupied West Bank on Saturday. 

Muhammad Matir was killed on the scene, while his brother Muhannad was pronounced dead upon arrival at the hospital, according to reports.

The brothers had stopped to fix a punctured tyre when they were hit, Palestinian news agency Wafa reported citing a spokesperson from the Palestinian Authority.

Several Palestinian organisations claimed that the brothers were killed intentionally by the Israeli driver. 

Fatah, the Palestinian political group that dominates the Palestinian Authority in the occupied West Bank, said the deaths were a continuance of crimes against Palestinians. 

Palestinian armed groups Islamic Jihad and Lions’ Den have called on Palestinians to avenge the deaths, according to Haaretz. 

A general strike was declared in Qalandiya refugee camp in Jerusalem, where the brothers were from, in response to their deaths. 

Palestinians are routinely targeted across the West Bank and East Jerusalem by Israeli settlers, who often attack Palestinian neighbourhoods or olive groves. 

Israel has illegally occupied the West Bank, including annexed east Jerusalem, since the Six-Day War of 1967. It has built dozens of illegal settlements on Palestinian land, populating the region with hundreds of thousands of Israeli settlers.