Dozens of Israeli settlers attacked the village of Jit in the occupied West Bank on Thursday evening, setting fire to houses and cars. The Palestinian health ministry reported that at least one person, a local man in his early 20s, was killed, and another was critically injured. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) confirmed the attack and is investigating the fatality.
The settlers, some masked, hurled rocks and Molotov cocktails during the assault, which has been captured on social media, showing flames engulfing buildings and vehicles with smoke rising over the village.
Israeli political leaders have condemned the violence and vowed to hold those responsible accountable. The IDF reported that one Israeli national has been detained in connection with the attack. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stated that “those responsible for any criminal act will be caught and prosecuted.
” President Isaac Herzog condemned the perpetrators as an “extreme minority” harming both the settlement community and Israel’s international standing during a sensitive time.
“Law enforcement officials must act immediately” to bring those responsible to justice, Mr Herzog added.
In a statement, the IDF said its forces were deployed in the village “within minutes” of receiving reports of violence, shooting in the air to disperse the crowds. Attackers were then removed from Jit.
The IDF added that a joint investigation was launched by its forces, Israel’s security agency Shin Bet and the Israeli police following the “serious incident”.
The US said attacks by settlers were “unacceptable and must stop”.
“Israeli authorities must take measures to protect all communities from harm, this includes intervening to stop such violence, and holding all perpetrators of such violence to account,” a White House National Security Council spokesperson said.
Palestinians regularly accuse Israeli security forces of allowing groups of violent settlers to attack their villages.
According to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), there have been over 1,000 attacks by Israeli settlers against Palestinians since October. These attacks have displaced at least 1,390 people, including 660 children. The violence has often been lethal, with OCHA documenting 107 incidents that resulted in Palestinian fatalities and injuries, and 859 incidents causing damage to property.
While the international focus has largely been on the Israel-Hamas conflict in the Gaza Strip, the scale of settler violence has led the US, the EU, and the UK to impose sanctions on certain settler leaders and, for the first time, on entire settler outposts.
