Jerusalem, Israel.- Israeli leaders have strongly condemned a deadly attack by settlers in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, in a rare denunciation by the Israeli state of settler violence that has become more common since the start of the war between Israel and Hamas.
A settler attack on the village of Jit near the northern West Bank city of Nablus on Thursday night left one Palestinian dead and others seriously wounded, Palestinian health officials said.
Residents interviewed by The Associated Press said at least 100 masked settlers entered the village, fired live ammunition, burned homes and cars and damaged fuel trucks. A video shows the flames consuming the small town that residents said had to defend itself without military help for two hours.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he took the unrest “seriously” and that Israelis who committed criminal acts would be prosecuted. He issued what appeared to be a call for settlers to leave.
“Those who fight terrorism are the Israel Defense Forces and the security forces, and no one else,” he said.
President Isaac Herzog also condemned the attack, as did Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, who said the settlers had “attacked innocent people.” He added that they did not “represent the values” of the settler communities.
The foreign ministers of Britain and France were in Israel on Friday, and both condemned the attack. European Union foreign policy chief Josep Borell said he would propose sanctions against “facilitators of violent settlers, including some members of the Israeli government.”
US Ambassador Jack Lew wrote on X that he was “shocked” by the attack, and the White House National Security Council called it “unacceptable.”
Palestinians view the West Bank, captured by Israel in the 1967 Six-Day War, as the heartland of a future state, a position that enjoys broad international support.
Human rights groups say arrests for settler violence are rare, and prosecutions even rarer.
The leftist Israeli daily Haaretz reported in 2022 that, based on Israeli police statistics, charges were filed in only 3.8 percent of cases of settler violence, and that most cases were opened and closed without any action being taken.
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