Israeli wounded in West Bank shooting after Palestinian killed by Israeli violence

A 25-year-old Israeli has been wounded in a shooting after one Palestinian was killed and hundreds were injured in Israeli violence in the occupied West Bank.
8 min read
27 February, 2023
Men handle a lock on the door of a torched building in the town of Huwara near Nablus in the occupied West Bank on 27 February 2023. [Getty]

A 25-year-old Israeli man was wounded in a West Bank shooting, after violence erupted in the area on Sunday, according to Israeli media.

The man is in critical condition and is being evacuated to Haddasah University Hospital in Jerusalem, Emergency services reported, according to Haaretz.

This comes after a Palestinian was killed as hundreds of others were injured and numerous homes were set on fire by Israeli settlers on Sunday evening in the latest escalation in the occupied West Bank.

The Palestinian health ministry said that a 37-year-old Palestinian, Sameh Aqtash, was shot dead in Zaatara village near Nablus during the attack.

More than 350 Palestinians were injured, most suffering from tear gas inhalation, the Palestinian Red Crescent Society said.

At least 30 houses were completely or partially burned and about 25 cars were burned, according to Al-Araby Al-Jadeed.

Also on Sunday, two Israeli settlers living in an illegal West Bank settlement were killed, Israeli officials said,  just south of the Nablus, in a car on the main road through the town of Huwara.

Late Sunday, Israeli media reported the attack by Israeli settlers as "seeking revenge" near Huwara. Palestinian news agency Wafa reported that settlers "set fire to several Palestinian-owned houses" in villages near Nablus.

The Israeli army did not immediately comment but said it had evacuated dozens of Palestinians from their homes threatened by fires in Huwara.

The latest deaths came amid talks in Jordan to discuss worsening violence in the occupied territory, and days after Israeli forces launched their deadliest West Bank raid in nearly 20 years, which killed 11 Palestinians in the northern city of Nablus.

8:52 PM
The New Arab Staff & Agencies

Israel has now deployed extra troops in the occupied West Bank after a Palestinian was killed when Jewish settlers rampaged through a village, setting fire to houses and cars, in revenge for Palestinian attacks on Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank. 

"We expect difficult days ahead of us," Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant said as he toured the largely empty streets of the village of Hawara with a heavy security detail. 

Yoav Gallant spoke to the media under heavy security protection in Huwara [Getty]
8:34 PM
The New Arab Staff & Agencies

After the waves of settler attacks, Palestinians have been recounting their experiences. 

In Burin, close to Huwara, village council head Ibrahim Omran said residents experienced "a real battlefield".

"Even the sheep were not spared from the brutality of the extremist settlers," he told reporters, explaining that two sheep were stabbed to death, while homes, cars and a school room were set ablaze.

8:20 PM
The New Arab Staff & Agencies

Elsewhere in Israel, cracks are beginning to show in the coalition of extremist parties that carried Netanyahu to power in the latest election. 

An ultra-conservative Jewish politician on Monday said he was resigning from his role in Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government after failing to advance his agenda, but that he would still support the coalition in parliament.

Avi Maoz, whose Noam party had one of the Knesset's 120 seats, was made a deputy minister in Netanyahu's office as part of the coalition sworn in on Dec. 29, with responsibilities for encouraging stringent observance of Jewish law in the country.

His inclusion shook Israel's once-dominant secular liberals, who have been holding weekly mass-demonstrations against reforms sought by Netanyahu to curb the power of the Supreme Court.

"To my amazement, I discovered that there is no serious intent to implement the coalition agreement regarding the administration of national Jewish identity," Maoz said in a resignation letter circulated to Israeli media.

Reporting by Reuters

2:10 AM
The New Arab Staff & Agencies

US officials urge Israel to calm the situation in the West Bank

US officials requested Israel to help "calm down" Israeli violence after settlers stormed the town of Hawara, The New Arab's Arabic service Al-Araby Al-Jadeed reported Israeli media as saying.

Several phone calls reportedly took place between American officials and their counterparts from Israel after the storming.

The US also reportedly expressed its condolences for two Israelis who were killed in the violence.

One Palestinian man, who had recently returned from volunteering in Turkey to help quake victims, was also killed in the violence.

So far this year, 63 Palestinians have been killed at the hands of Israeli violence.

11 Israelis have been killed in the same time period.

1:20 PM
The New Arab Staff & Agencies

Israeli security minister says 'we are at war'

Itamar Ben-Gvir, Israel's national security minister and an extreme-right settler, said the killing of two Israeli’s in the West Bank "must teach us that we are at war".

Brothers Hillel and Yagel Yaniv, ages 21 and 19, were shot in an ambush amid violence in the Palestinian town of Hawara in the northern West Bank.

Esty Yaniv, the mother of the brothers, said the Israeli army are responsible for security.

"We love this country, we love the army, we want security, but the responsibility to guarantee security rests solely with the army," the mother said.

The West Bank is home to about 2.9 million Palestinians as well as an estimated 475,000 Jewish settlers, who live in state-approved settlements considered illegal under international law.

Since 2023, at least 63 Palestinians have been killed in Israeli violence. 11 Israelis have been killed in the same period.

1:10 PM
The New Arab Staff & Agencies

Israeli army fires tear gas at Palestinians, Huwara resident says

On Monday, an AFP photographer saw damaged homes blackened by fire, long lines of charred cars, burned trees and smashed windows in the town.

"They burned the cars and the houses and destroyed everything," Huwara resident Diaa Odeh said.

"Whenever we started to push the settlers back, the army was firing tear gas at us," added the 25-year-old.

Wajeh Odeh, a member of the town's municipality, said 30 houses were burned and damaged while more than 100 cars were torched.

12:55 PM
The New Arab Staff & Agencies

Over 350 Palestinians injured in Israeli violence

More than 350 Palestinians were injured following Israeli violence in the West Bank on Sunday, the Palestinian Red Crescent Society said.

Most of those injured suffered from tear gas inhalation, according to the Red Crescent.

12:34 PM
The New Arab Staff & Agencies

Brother of Palestinian killed in violence says Israeli army responsible

Abdel Moneim Aqtash, the brother of the Palestinian Sameh Aqtash killed in the Israeli violence, says Israeli authorities are responsible.

He stated he and his brother were standing outside a blacksmith's workshop when they were attacked by Israeli settlers.

"They left the area and then came back with the occupation (Israeli) army... The army shot my brother, not the settlers," he told AFP.

The military told AFP that Aqtash "was not shot by an Israeli soldier".

10:33 AM
The New Arab Staff

Palestinians mourn quake volunteer killed in Israeli violence

Hundreds of Palestinians took to the streets to mourn the death of a man shot on Sunday night by Israeli settlers in the West Bank, after he returned from a volunteering trip to help Turkey quake victims, according to reports.

Mourners paid tribute to Sameh Hamdallah Mahmoud Aqtash, 37, in the town of Beita, located in the Nablus province, as he was buried on Monday morning, The New Arab's Arabic language service Al-Araby Al-Jadeed reported.

Israeli settlers shot Aqtash in his abdomen near his home in Zaatara Village, as they attacked at least 30 homes in Nablus.

The father of five died from his injuries before reaching the hospital and was buried early on Monday.

9:52 AM
The New Arab Staff

UK ambassador to Israel slams settler violence

The UK ambassador to Israel, Neil Wigan, slammed Israeli settlers’ violence against Palestinians on Sunday night in the town of Hawara.

Wigan said Israel should "tackle" such settler violence and called for justice.

"Terrible scenes in Huwara this evening, with reports of a Palestinian man killed in a settler attack and many more injured," Wigan tweeted.

"Israel should tackle settler violence, with those responsible brought to justice. The UK is deeply worried by rising violence," he added.

The ambassador also condemned the killing of Israeli’s near Hawara.

"I condemn such violence, which worsens the situation in the West Bank. We send our condolences to the family of the victims," he said.

9:30 AM
The New Arab Staff

Israeli settler runs over journalist covering West Bank events

An Israeli settler ran over a journalist covering events in the town of Hawara, south of the occupied West Bank city of Nablus, according to reports.

A settler got out of their vehicle and ran over the journalist, after attempting to assault journalists on duty covering the situation, journalist Khaled Bdeir said, according to the official Palestinian news agency Wafa.

A settler also attempted to carry a car-ramming attack against a number of journalists on a main road in Huwara, Alaa Badarneh, a photojournalist, added.

9:07 AM
The New Arab Staff & Agencies

Palestinian militant group herald shooting as sign of 'resistance'

The Palestinian militant group Islamic Jihad heralded Sunday's shooting in Huwara, where two Israeli settlers were killed, as a "heroic operation".

"It sends a strong message to the Aqaba summit that our (Palestinian) resistance is present," said Islamic Jihad, which had joined Hamas and other militant groups in opposing the Jordan talks.

Since the start of this year, Israeli violence has killed at least 63 Palestinian adults and children.

Eleven Israeli civilians, including three children, a police officer and one Ukrainian civilian have been killed over the same period, according to an AFP tally based on official sources from both sides.

8:40 AM
The New Arab Staff

Israeli settlers assaulted at least 30 houses, burned 15 cars

Israeli settlers, some of whom were masked gunmen, assaulted 30 houses, burned 15 cars, and injured over 100 Palestinians in Nablus, according to The New Arab's Arabic service Al-Araby Al-Jadeed.

In addition, at least 35 houses were completely burned, 40 houses were partially burned and 100 private vehicles were burned and destroyed in the area, according to the Palestinian Red Cross.

The Red Cross responded to the event with 9 ambulances, 45 ambulance officers and volunteers, according to the association.

8:38 AM
The New Arab Staff & Agencies

Eyewitnesses report settler attacks on village of Huwara

Abdullah Al-Huwari, 36, an eyewitness, reported that "large numbers of settlers attacked the village of Huwara", setting fire to homes and cars.

"I see in front of me flames," he said. "Wherever I turn my eyes, I see the flames of a burning house."