Israeli settlers shoot two Palestinians in occupied West Bank

Israeli settlers shot and seriously wounded two Palestinians in the northern occupied West Bank early on Friday, Palestinian health officials said, in what authorities describe as the latest incident in a wave of settler violence.

The Palestinian health ministry said the two wounded Palestinians were being treated at a hospital in the village of Qusra, near the West Bank city of Nablus. It did not identify the men.

Media coverage: "Israeli colonizers opened fire today at Palestinians' homes in Qusra village, south of Nablus. At least 2 Palestinians were injured by the settlers' bullets." pic.twitter.com/iZvfqzGMpZ

— Quds News Network (@QudsNen) February 23, 2023

A group of armed settlers from a nearby illegal outpost descended on the village and Palestinians went into the street to see what was happening late on Thursday, said Ghassan Douglas, the Palestinian official who monitors Israeli settlements in the Nablus region. One of the settlers opened fire at the residents, hitting one man in the stomach and another in the thigh. Douglas said the shooting was unprovoked.

The Israeli army claimed that soldiers arrived to disperse the incident. It said it was aware Palestinians were evacuated to a hospital with gunshot wounds, while Israeli police said they were going to "investigate".

The northern West Bank in particular has seen a surge of settler attacks. Many villages in the area have gradually become sandwiched between settlements and unauthorised outposts that house settlers, many of them considered extremist.

Both settlements and outposts are deemed a violation of international law.

Last month, Israeli rights group B'Tselem recorded a string of incidents near Nablus - from settlers attacking Palestinians with stones in Qusra to torching Palestinian cars in Aqraba. Earlier this month, a settler shot and killed a Palestinian civilian in the farming town of Salfit.

"This kind of event we are now seeing here every few weeks," said Douglas, describing the settler violence as an attempt to push villagers off their land.

The United Nations recorded over 630 settler attacks against Palestinians in the West Bank last year, up from 496 in 2021. That includes property damage as well as physical assaults.

Israel invaded the West Bank, along with east Jerusalem in 1967 and has occupied the territories ever since, while besieging the impoverished Gaza enclave. At least 700,000 Israeli settlers now live in dozens of settlements that spread across the West Bank, hindering Palestinian life. Settlers are protected by the Israeli military.