Two Israelis Killed in West Bank Attack, Settlers Rampage Villages in Response

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Facts

  • In response to a Palestinian gunman killing two Israeli settlers —brothers Hillel and Yagel Yaniv — near the northern West Bank city of Nablus on Sunday, Israeli settlers rampaged a number of Palestinian villages, including Hawara, Burin, and Asira al-Qabaliyya.1
  • The Palestinian Health Ministry reported that a Palestinian man was shot dead by Israeli fire, while the Palestinian Red Crescent said that two others were shot and wounded, a third person was stabbed, and a fourth was beaten with an iron bar. Some 95 others were treated for tear gas inhalation.2
  • The settlers burned dozens of houses, cars, and businesses throughout the affected villages during the late-night violence. Photos and videos posted to social media showed large fires burning in the town of Huwara.3
  • Palestinian political parties and armed groups called for Palestinian residents in the West Bank to confront the settlers, and members of the Israeli government, including Prime Minister Netanyahu, condemned the rampage. Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, however, liked tweets supporting it, before releasing an official statement calling for restraint.4
  • The violence comes immediately after a summit in Aqaba, Jordan between Jordanian, Egyptian, US, Israeli, and Palestinian officials and representatives. A joint statement said that Israel was committed to temporarily halting settlement expansion in the West Bank, but Netanyahu appeared to contradict this on Sunday.5
  • The situation in the West Bank, Gaza, and Israel continues to deteriorate as violence worsens. Last week, an Israeli raid in Nablus led to the death of 11 people and injured over 100. Last month, a Palestinian gunman opened fire near a synagogue in an east Jerusalem settlement, killing seven people; Israel has launched regular raids throughout the West Bank following a spree of Palestinian attacks last year.6

Sources: 1BBC News, 2France24, 3Al Jazeera, 4Jerusalem Post, 5FOX News and 6CNN.

Narratives

  • Pro-Palestine, as provided by Middle east eye. What happened in Nablus on Sunday night can only be described as a pogrom carried out by fanatic Jewish supremacists with the complete backing of the Israeli army and government. Though this event was so violent many Israeli figures had to vocally condemn it, settler violence is a common practice in the occupied West Bank and has been for decades. The settlers' violence is just another element of the Zionist project to displace the Palestinian people since the movement's inception. Emboldened by international silence after killing more Palestinians last year than in any other calendar year since the Second Intifada, the occupation is becoming even more violent.
  • Pro-Israel, as provided by Times of israel. Of course, what the settlers did in response to the terrorist attack on Sunday was barbaric and monstrous, but one must keep in mind that such violence is a result of the Israeli government's failure in managing Palestinian terrorism. Netanyahu condemned what happened and so did many in his cabinet. Figures that showed support for the riots should be sidelined — Israel does not support such acts of violence, as it goes against the moral foundation behind the state's creation. Most Israelis want peace, and the actions of these settlers do not represent the rest of Israeli society.

Predictions