Israeli settlementr attacks on Palestinians in the West Bank Friday left a man in critical condition and drew international condemnation, including from the US.
On Friday, Settlers attacked local farmers and set cars and farms alight near the villages of Turmosayia and Al Mughayyer near Ramallah, eyewitnesses told CNN and local journalists.
The Palestinian ministry said on Saturday that one man is still in critical condition at the hospital and has been shot in the head. The other eight were injured at the scene.
We are deeply concerned by the rising trend of extremist settler violence, including reports of attacks against Palestinians in homes and farms in which they have lived for decades, the US State Department said in a statement. We unequivocally condemn all acts of extremist violence, whether Israeli or Palestinian. Israeli Defense Forces IDF which enforces security in the Israeli-occupied West Bank acknowledged that Palestinian cars were set alight and said Israeli security forces tried to disperse the conflict. The IDF has also said both sides were responsible for the incident and said both Israelis and Palestinians were injured. The IDF said a violent encounter was being instigated in the Shilo Valley, involving Palestinians and Israeli civilians. Israeli civilians fired into the air during the incident, resulting in mutual stone-hurling and mutual firing. An unidentified Israeli security official said on Israeli Army Radio that the Israeli government would work to bring the perpetrators to justice. These are a handful of criminals who are agitating the area, harming security and bringing a bad name to the entire settlement in Judea and Samaria, the official said, using the biblical name used by some Israeli Jews to refer to the West Bank.
The EU's diplomatic mission to the Palestinians called on the Israeli government to take crucial steps to ensure accountability and safeguard the Palestinian civilian population. The US State Department also condemned the attempted stabbing of an Israeli in a settlement south of Hebron, also in the West Bank. The alleged attacker, 28-year-old Alaa Khalil Qaisiyah, was shot dead.