TWO PALESTINIANS KILLED IN SETTLER RAID ON WEST BANK TOWN

Israeli settlers and soldiers killed two Palestinians during a raid on the village of Deir Jarir in the occupied West Bank on Sunday night. The Palestinian health ministry identified the victims as Ahmad Adel Abu Mukho, aged 26, and Odeh Abdul Rahim Odeh Farakhneh, aged 53. According to Palestinian residents, settlers from a nearby outpost arrived after 9pm claiming to search for stolen livestock, with Israeli soldiers and police following shortly after. When villagers gathered to stop the raid, soldiers opened fire, killing the two men. A third person was wounded. The raid involved three successive incursions by settlers and soldiers that continued until after 2am.

Residents reported that settlers took livestock by force during the operation. One family said 21 of their sheep were stolen, whilst 50 were taken from another villager. Adel Rashid, father of the younger victim, stated that settlers and security forces conduct such raids multiple times monthly. Israeli forces also prevented ambulances from reaching the wounded, according to the Palestine Red Crescent Society, which reported that Israeli troops opened fire on one of its ambulances. Violence by Israeli settlers against Palestinians has intensified sharply since the war in Gaza began in October 2023, with settlers now carrying out near-daily attacks including arson, vandalism and assaults, often under the protection of Israeli forces.

The UN Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory reported last month an unprecedented escalation in settler violence against Palestinians. The commission stated that the Israeli government supports such attacks through financial backing, logistical assistance and military protection. Srinivasan Muralidhar, chair of the commission, said that "violence by settlers is the direct outcome of Israeli policies that support, enable and protect their actions."