Deadly clash near West Bank village kills 4 Palestinians, 2 Israelis as IDF launches major operation
At least 5 Palestinian villages near Nablus attacked by Israeli settlers Friday: local media
Four Palestinians and two Israeli soldiers were killed near a Palestinian village on Friday in a confrontation that added to a growing toll over recent weeks as Israeli settler violence has intensified against Palestinians in the occupied West Bank.
The deadly confrontation near the village of Tal, southwest of Nablus, took place as settler attacks on Palestinian villages have increased sharply since the start of the year, according to figures from the United Nations.
Israel's military said it had received reports that Israeli civilians who were hiking in the area had been attacked near the village, in the so-called Area A of the West Bank. The area is under Palestinian Authority civil and security control, and Israelis are officially prohibited from entering.
The military said a Palestinian man took a weapon from Israeli security personnel from the nearby settlement of Havat Gilad and opened fire, wounding several Israelis before being killed. It identified 32-year-old Benayahu Mellet as one of the Israelis killed. Three other Palestinians were also killed.
The exact circumstances of Friday's confrontation remained unclear, but Israeli media reports and interviews with local Palestinian officials suggested a group of settlers entered Tal and were confronted by residents who feared being attacked.
Videos of shooting circulating
In a video of the Friday shooting, confirmed by the Israeli military and circulated online by the military correspondent for Israel's Army Radio, two armed men in civilian clothing, as well as at least one Israeli soldier, are shown pointing their weapons at a group of Palestinians who had gathered in a field.
At one point, the two armed men rush toward several Palestinian residents with their guns drawn. In the footage, the residents try to push them back and appear to disarm one of the men before one of the residents opens fire.
A separate video, published by Israeli media outlets and confirmed by the military, showed Israeli forces firing on a group of Palestinians in the same field who were already on the ground.
More than a dozen gunshots can be heard in the footage. The military said the Palestinian man suspected of opening fire was one of the people killed in the field. It did not respond to questions about why soldiers killed the other men — all of whom were related — or how long after the original altercation the killings took place.
Military orders 'counterterrorism' operation
On Friday, Israeli troops set up roadblocks in the area around Tal and Nablus and said they were pursuing individuals involved in the incident. The military said it was preparing for "extensive counterterrorism operational activity in the sector" and had canceled leave.
Hardline Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich said nearby Palestinian villages should be cleared of their inhabitants and new settlements built to establish security.
"This is our appropriate Zionist answer to terrorists and terrorism, and to the desire to harm our grip on the areas of our country," he said in a statement.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he had conducted a security assessment into Friday's shooting, along with the defence minister and the military's chief of staff.
Some attacks follow Israeli deaths
Also on Friday, five Palestinian villages surrounding Nablus were attacked by Israeli settlers, according to the Palestinian news agency WAFA.
In a separate incident, the Palestinian Authority foreign ministry said, settlers had attacked a village near the city of Qalqilya, wounding two people and setting fire to trees and cars. The Israeli military was not immediately available for comment.
The towns and villages surrounding Nablus sit in one of the most violent parts of the Israeli-occupied West Bank, which Israel has occupied since the 1967 Middle East war and which Palestinians view as part of their state.
In addition to newly approved settlements, at least nine farming outposts dot the area, and attacks by Israeli settlers, army incursions and confrontations have become frequent.
Palestinians and human rights groups have increasingly documented armed settlers entering villages in the area. Livestock theft, arson and the defacement of mosques are routinely reported.
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Some of those incidents have been so-called revenge attacks that followed the deaths of Israelis, such as the March 21 death of 18-year-old Yehuda Sherman. Sherman was killed when a Palestinian vehicle struck his ATV near Beit Imrin.
Senior politicians, including Smotrich, attended Sherman's funeral and called for vengeance.
Over the next two days, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs documented 32 settler attacks affecting 30 Palestinian villages and communities across the West Bank, about a third near Nablus governorate. Settlers torched homes and vehicles, vandalized property and assaulted residents, injuring at least 32 Palestinians, according to OCHA.
According to figures from the Palestinian Authority, 87 Palestinians have been killed in the West Bank so far this year, including 21 killed by Israeli settlers. United Nations figures indicate some 850 Palestinians have been wounded in the context of attacks by Israeli settlers since the start of the year.
WATCH | Settlement expansion accelerates in recent months:With files from The Associated Press and CBC News