Israeli settlers launch new pogrom in Palestinian village, as forces raid West Bank towns

Dozens of masked Israeli settlers torched a Palestinian village near the occupied West Bank city of Nablus on Thursday evening, killing one person and burning cars and homes.

The Palestinian ministry of health reported several wounded following the violent attack, with settlers’ also targeting residents of the village of Jit with live fire.

The Palestinian man killed in the attack has been identified as 23-year-old Mahmoud Abdel Qader Sadda.

The setters threw rocks and Molotov cocktails at residents, with the Israeli army issuing a statement saying they were deployed to the village after receiving reports of violence.

The attack is the latest in a series of many in recent weeks and months, with footage of the settlers setting fire to homes and cars surfacing on social media platforms. 

Israel’s president Isaac Herzog denounced the attack as a "pogrom", while prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office published a statement saying, "those responsible for any offence will be apprehended and tried".

The White House also condemned the attack, describing it as "unacceptable".

"Violent attacks by settlers against Palestinian civilians in the West Bank are unacceptable and must stop. Israeli authorities need to take necessary measures to protect all residents," a White House spokesperson said, calling on Israel to take steps to prevent similar attacks.

However, Israel’s far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich said the perpetrators in Jit had nothing to do with settlers.

"They are criminals who must be dealt with by the law enforcement authorities with the full force of the law," he wrote on X.

The Israeli army said it will launch an investigation into the "serious incident".

Hamas called on the West Bank to "rise up in anger" after the deadly attack, offering their condolences to the young Palestinian man killed by the settlers.

Attacks on Palestinians 

The UN office OCHA says since the start of the war on Gaza in October, there have been at least 107 attacks that have caused Palestinians fatalities and wounds, and 859 causing damage to Palestinian property.

According to the Wall and Settlement Resistance Commission (WSRC), Israeli forces and settlers have deliberately started 273 fires targeting Palestinian land and property since 7 October.

The head of the commission, Mouayad Shaban, said settlers have been exploiting attention on the war on Gaza to carry out further attacks in the West Bank.

He added that most of the fires have been concentrated in the cities of Nablus, Ramallah, and Jenin.

Most of the fires have been started in agricultural land and crops, as well as homes and vehicles, the Palestinian news agency Wafa reported, citing the report by WSRC. Some of these fires were caused by military raids, the report noted.

Elsewhere in the West Bank, Israeli forces carried out a largescale raid in several neighbourhoods of Hebron.

Local media reports stated that soldiers detained civilians, including women and children, subjecting them to harsh treatment and preventing them from returning to their homes.

Israeli forces have in recent weeks imposed heavier entry restrictions in neighbourhoods in the city, by blocking off exits and installing checkpoints.

Early on Friday, Israeli settlers also started excavating near the Arab Al-Ka’abneh Elementary School north of Jericho, aiming to establish a new settler building in the area, Wafa reported.

Hassan Melehat, the general supervisor of the Al-Baydar Organisation for Bedouin Rights highlighted that the area is central for the local Bedouin community there, and that the operation is part of a “broader, aggressive colonial campaign, supported by Israeli occupation forces".

Smotrich announced this week that a new settlement in the Battir area, which is listed on the UNSECO World Heritage List, has been approved.

His office said it had "completed its work and published a plan for the new Nahal Heletz settlement in Gush Etzion".

The report states around 6,000 acres have already been seized this year alone, and large-scale construction projects to make way for illegal outposts have increased.

The United Nations has previously stated that the expansion of Israeli settlements in occupied Palestinian territories constitutes a war crime.

International law considers Israel’s settlements in the West Bank, occupied since 1967, are illegal in all cases.