Netanyahu vows to act 'with force' after deadly clash in West Bank
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed a forceful response Friday after a clash in the West Bank killed an Israeli and four Palestinians, while the military announced preparations for a new operation in the occupied area.
Violence in the West Bank has surged since the Gaza war began with Hamas's October 7, 2023 attack on Israel.
Friday's violence erupted near the settlement of Havat Gilad and the neighboring Palestinian village of Tell, in territory occupied by Israel since 1967.
Excluding east Jerusalem, more than 500,000 Israelis live in settlements in the West Bank alongside around three million Palestinians.
Netanyahu vowed in a statement to "act with full force against the terrorists and those who orchestrate and sponsor them", and said he said he would convene a meeting of security officials.
According to Walid Zidan, head of the Tell village council, Friday's clashes began when a group of about 20 settlers entered the village.
"Villagers came out to defend their homes and property. Clashes and physical altercations broke out between the residents and the settlers," Zidan told AFP.
"Israeli soldiers were present and together with the settlers began opening fire ... it was the settlers who stormed the village, with the intention of killing, vandalizing and setting property on fire."
The Ramallah-based Palestinian health ministry reported four people killed and four others wounded in the incident.
Grieving Palestinian relatives gathered at two hospitals in the nearby city of Nablus, where the victims' bodies were taken, an AFP journalist reported.
For its part, the Israeli military said there was a violent confrontation between dozens of Palestinians and Israeli civilians.
An emergency response security team from Havat Gilad was called to the scene along with soldiers, a military official said.
"During the confrontation, shots were fired on both sides and a weapon belonging to a member of the emergency response security team was stolen by a Palestinian terrorist," the official said.
"One member of the security team was killed during the incident and additional security members were injured," he said, adding that four Palestinians were also killed.
The clashes subsequently died down, he said.
- 'Extensive' operation -
Israel's Magen David Adom emergency service said a man in his thirties was pronounced dead near Havat Gilad.
Two other people, in their twenties, were evacuated by helicopter with gunshot wounds, one of them in a serious condition.
AFP journalists were unable to reach the site of the violence as Israeli forces had set up roadblocks across the area.
The Israeli military said it was preparing to launch a widespread operation in the West Bank.
"IDF soldiers are preparing for extensive counterterrorism operational activity in the sector," the military said.
It added that it had postponed soldiers' leave across the territory and had begun deploying forces in the area.
Hours later, in a separate incident, Israeli settlers attacked the village of Farata, also near Havat Gilad, according to Abdel Moneim Shanneh, head of the local council.
"The settlers set fire to the olive groves... The army prevented young men from the village from extinguishing fires and opened fire on them," he said, adding that five men were injured.
Violence in the West Bank has intensified since the Gaza war began, with a rise in settler attacks on Palestinians and Palestinian attacks on Israelis.
All Israeli settlements in the West Bank are illegal under international law.
Israeli figures show at least 47 Israelis, including civilians and security personnel, have been killed in Palestinian attacks or during Israeli military operations since the start of the Gaza war.
According to an AFP tally based on data from the Palestinian health ministry, Israeli soldiers or settlers have killed at least 1,094 Palestinians, including both militants and civilians, over the same period.
Source: Agence France Presse
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