JERUSALEM
\nIsraeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced on Friday his government would establish new settler outposts in the occupied West Bank and legalise more existing ones, a move that followed a deadly raid by armed Israeli settlers who stormed West Bank villages and killed four Palestinians.
\nNetanyahu and Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz announced \u201ca series of steps\u201d targeting Palestinians. These include military raids on Palestinian villages and \u201caccelerating the legalisation of farm outposts and establishment of new ones\u201d.
\nUnder international law, all Israeli settlements in the occupied territories are illegal.
\nNetanyahu vowed in a statement to \u201cact with full force\u201d, adding he would convene a meeting of security officials.
\nFriday\u2019s deadly violence erupted near the Palestinian village of Tell and the settler outpost of Havat Gilad in the West Bank, territory Israel has illegally occupied since 1967. Excluding East Jerusalem, more than 500,000 Israelis live in these settlements alongside roughly 3 million Palestinians.
\nWalid Zidan, head of the Tell village council, said the violence began when a mob of about 20 Israeli settlers invaded the Palestinian community.
\n\u201cVillagers came out to defend their homes and property. Clashes and physical altercations broke out between the residents and the settlers,\u201d Zidan said. \u201cIsraeli soldiers were present and, together with the settlers, began opening fire. … It was the settlers who stormed the village, with the intention of killing, vandalising and setting property on fire.\u201d
\nThe Palestinian Health Ministry confirmed four Palestinians were killed and four others wounded. Grieving Palestinian families gathered at hospitals in the nearby city of Nablus, where the victims\u2019 bodies were taken.
\nIsrael also claimed that two Israelis died during the violence. The Israeli military characterised the attack as a \u201cviolent confrontation\u201d between Palestinians and Israeli civilians.
\nA military official stated an emergency response team from Havat Gilad arrived with soldiers, resulting in one security team member killed and others injured.
\nIsrael\u2019s Magen David Adom emergency service said a man in his 30s was pronounced dead, and two others in their 20s were evacuated by helicopter with gunshot wounds.
\nFollowing the deadly settler raid, the Israeli military announced it was preparing an \u201cextensive\u201d operation in the occupied territory. The army postponed soldiers\u2019 leave, deployed additional forces and set up roadblocks, severely restricting movement and preventing journalists from accessing the site.
\nHours later, Israeli settlers launched a separate attack on the nearby Palestinian village of Farata. Abdel Moneim Shanneh, head of the local council, said settlers set fire to Palestinian olive groves.
\n\u201cThe army prevented young men from the village from extinguishing fires and opened fire on them,\u201d Shanneh said, adding that five Palestinian men were injured.
\nViolence against Palestinians in the West Bank has intensified dramatically since the Gaza war began. According to data from the Palestinian Health Ministry, Israeli soldiers and settlers have killed at least 1,094 Palestinians over the same period. Israeli figures show 47 Israelis have been killed.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
JERUSALEM Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced on Friday his government would establish new settler outposts in the occupied West Bank and legalise more existing ones, a move that followed a deadly raid by armed Israeli settlers who stormed West Bank villages and killed four Palestinians. Netanyahu and Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz announced \u201ca […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":558423,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-558412","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-world"],"yoast_head":"\n