Israeli-American motorist killed in West Bank after settlers rampage in opposition to Palestinians

Israeli officers stated within the newest incident Palestinians carried out a number of drive-by shootings on a freeway close to Jericho, killing an Israeli in his automotive earlier than fleeing. The US State Department stated the individual killed was additionally a US citizen.

Hawara,UPDATED: Feb 28, 2023 10:46 IST

Israeli settlers stand subsequent to Israeli members of the navy, within the aftermath of an incident the place a Palestinian gunman killed two Israeli settlers, close to Hawara within the Israeli-occupied West Bank (Reuters)

By Reuters:

Suspected Palestinian gunmen killed an Israeli-American motorist within the occupied West Bank on Monday after Jewish settlers rampaged by way of a Palestinian village in a burst of violence that defied US efforts to prod the perimeters to cooperate on safety.

Israeli officers stated within the newest incident Palestinians carried out a number of drive-by shootings on a freeway close to Jericho, killing an Israeli in his automotive earlier than fleeing. The US State Department stated the individual killed was additionally a US citizen.

There was no fast declare of duty by any Palestinian teams. The State Department didn’t determine the individual killed.

Israel strengthened its West Bank garrisons after two brothers from a Jewish settlement have been shot lifeless on Sunday, triggering the rampage by settlers during which a Palestinian was killed, scores have been damage and dozens of automobiles and houses have been torched.

Also Read: 2 Israelis killed by Palestinian gunman in West Bank, say Israeli officers

With the Muslim holy month of Ramadan and the Jewish Passover competition weeks away, international mediators have sought to tamp down tensions that surged after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu regained energy on the head of a hard-right coalition.

The occasions forged doubt on Netanyahu’s potential to stroll a diplomatic tightrope between Washington – pushing for a long-lasting compromise – and his personal cabinet that features hard-line settlers demanding robust motion in opposition to Palestinian assaults.

At an everyday briefing for reporters, State Department spokesperson Ned Price condemned assaults by each side and welcomed statements by Netanyahu calling for a cessation of what Price described as “vigilante violence” by settlers.

“We expect the Israeli government to ensure full accountability and legal prosecution of those responsible for these attacks, in addition to compensation for the lost homes and property,” Price stated.

On Sunday, Jordan, with U.S. envoys, hosted a uncommon assembly the place Israeli and Palestinian officers pledged a slowdown in Jewish settlement bulletins by the Netanyahu authorities and reaffirmed previous peace accords.

Diplomacy stalled in 2014. Israel now guidelines out West Bank handovers to the Palestinians, who’re themselves divided between the internationally-backed administration of President Mahmoud Abbas and Islamists against peacemaking.

The Islamist militant Hamas stated by way of its spokesman, Abdel-Latif Al-Qanoua, that Monday’s assault was a pure response to Israeli assaults.

“The crimes conducted by the occupation and the herds of settlers will not be met but with stabbing, shooting and car-ramming,” Qanoua stated in an announcement.

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‘DIFFICULT DAYS’

“We expect difficult days ahead of us,” Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant informed reporters as he toured the largely empty streets of the village of Hawara, the location of Sunday’s violence, underneath a heavy safety element.

Abbas blamed the Israeli authorities for the Hawara rampage.

Lamar Abusarees, a 10-year-old Palestinian woman, stated her home was amongst these set alight by settlers: “My mother moved us to a corner because there was no safe place, they broke all the windows while we were inside.”

Israeli police stated that they had arrested two individuals for the rampage. In parliament, Netanyahu stated safety forces have been closing in on the gunman who had killed the Israeli brothers.

Four further military battalions and two border police corporations have been posted to the West Bank since Sunday as reinforcements, the Israeli navy stated.

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“I call on everyone to restore calm,” Gallant stated. “We cannot allow a situation in which citizens take the law into their hands.”

Sixty-three Palestinians, together with gunmen and civilians, have been killed by Israeli forces in 2023, Palestinian officers say. Palestinian assaults have killed 13 Israelis, considered one of them a policeman, and a Ukrainian vacationer, Israel says.

Published On:

Feb 28, 2023