Israeli leaders condemn deadly settler attack in West Bank village

By Ezekiel David

Israel’s authorities denounced the settler attack that killed many people in the occupied West Bank town of Jit on Thursday night with an unusually forceful statement.

The incident that left a Palestinian man dead and several others injured has drawn attention to the issue of rising settler violence, putting doubt on the continuation of the war with Hamas.

A masked settler mob marched upon Jit, near Nablus, and Palestinian officials described a scene of terror and confusion. Witnesses claimed that they discharged live ammo randomly, setting cars and residences on fire and even hitting critical water infrastructure.

Residents like Sufian Jit spoke of their fear and helplessness, forced to fight the blazes themselves for hours before Israeli forces arrived. “They came in such numbers,” he recounted, his voice heavy with emotion, “More than 100 settlers against us. We were completely overwhelmed.”

In contrast to his sometimes subdued reactions to such occurrences, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu strongly criticised the incident and vowed to hold those responsible accountable. He firmly declared, “The IDF, our security forces—they are the ones who battle terrorism, no one else,” making it obvious that there was no room for sympathy for vigilante action.

President Isaac Herzog and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant both concurred in denouncing the attackers’ acts and stressed that they did not speak for all Israeli settlers.

This attack, however, lays bare a deeply troubling reality: a surge in settler violence that has plagued the West Bank since the outbreak of the Israel-Hamas war back in October. The United Nations has documented an alarming rise in such incidents, reporting an average of four attacks each day—double the rate witnessed just a year ago. And yet, rights groups argue, prosecutions for such violence remain frustratingly rare.

The international community has also been increasingly concerned about the violence and has called on Israel to take decisive action to stop it as well as to hold those responsible for the atrocities accountable. The United States has urged Israel to put the security and safety of all the communities under its jurisdiction first, even as it denounces the attack.

The pressure is increased by an announcement made by EU foreign policy leader Josep Borrell that he intends to propose sanctions on individuals within the Israeli government as well as those who facilitate settler violence, indicating a possible intensification of the international reaction.

(Source: AP)