[News] Settlers go on killing spree in West Bank

[Anti-Imperialist News]

electronicintifada.net
<https://electronicintifada.net/blogs/tamara-nassar/settlers-go-killing-spree-west-bank>
Settlers go on killing spree in West Bank

Tamara Nassar <https://electronicintifada.net/people/tamara-nassar> - 13
October 2023
------------------------------
[image: The body of a man is wrapped in a flag and carried by men]

Palestinians carry the body of Muntasir Zaaqiq killed a day earlier in
clashes with Israeli security forces, during his funeral in the Beit Ummar
village north of Hebron in the occupied West Bank, on 10 October.
APA images

With all eyes on Israel’s carpet bombing of the Gaza Strip since 7 October,
Israeli settlers have been on a deadly spree in the occupied West Bank with
the help and protection of the Israeli army.

Israeli settlers and soldiers have killed at least 35 Palestinians in the
occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, since Saturday, according
<https://www.facebook.com/mohps/posts/pfbid02kvZUkRUkoSqr6stYizqjzfuTg8Fjfz2ZJoA2NPjf5P5gNG4dus2UnnYc64Ha36nal>
to the Palestinian Authority’s health ministry.

At least five of those were killed by settlers, the UN monitoring group
OCHA reported
<https://ochaopt.org/content/hostilities-gaza-strip-and-israel-flash-update-6>,
and at least seven
<https://www.dci-palestine.org/israeli_settlers_soldiers_fatally_shoot_17_year_old_palestinian_boy>
were children
<https://www.dci-palestine.org/israeli_forces_shoot_kill_16_year_old_palestinian_boy_near_hebron>
.

Israeli forces have injured hundreds of Palestinians in the West Bank, many
of them children.

Soldiers have been firing huge quantities of rubber-coated steel bullets
and tear gas canisters at Palestinians.

“Over 35 percent of all injuries were shot with live ammunition,” OCHA
reported
<https://ochaopt.org/content/hostilities-gaza-strip-and-israel-flash-update-6>.
Some Palestinians have been physically assaulted, the group said.

The Israeli authorities are also imposing severe movement restrictions on
Palestinians in the West Bank.

Israel has shuttered several checkpoints and blocked entrances to towns and
villages for the fifth consecutive day.

Israel also closed all checkpoints segregating the Hebron H2 area, which
comprises 20 percent of the city and is under full Israeli military
control, from the rest of the city, effectively segregating and impeding
the movement of 7,000 Palestinians in the area.
“In most major routes in the West Bank, the military allows travel only for
Israeli settlers,” Israeli human rights group Yesh Din, which monitors
settler violence in the occupied West Bank, stated.

Palestinian access to the al-Aqsa mosque compound in Jerusalem has also
been restricted for the fifth day in a row.

Israeli settlers have been on a deadly rampage in the West Bank with the
help and protection of Israeli soldiers.

Israeli settlers are shooting at Palestinians, damaging their property and
trees in villages, on roads and in agricultural lands, Yesh Din said.
“There is evidence that soldiers are allowing the violence to continue,
sometimes joining in,” the human rights group said.

“Settlers are utilizing the fact that public attention is focused elsewhere
to continue to remove Palestinians from their land and take it over, and
add fuel to the fire of violence,” B’Tselem – another Israeli human rights
group – said on Wednesday.

Since Saturday, settlers have been attacking Palestinian residents in many
parts of the West Bank. Settlers are utilising the fact that public
attention is focused elsewhere to continue to remove Palestinians from
their land and take it over, and add fuel to the fire of violence.
— B'Tselem בצלם بتسيلم (@btselem) October 11, 2023
<https://twitter.com/btselem/status/1712116925143158793?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw>

Thirty five Palestinian families – more than 200 people in all – began
leaving their homes in the Wadi al-Siq and al-Muarajat Bedouin communities,
“following systematic harassment and attacks by Israeli settlers, raising
concern of a forcible transfer,” OCHA said
<https://ochaopt.org/content/hostilities-gaza-strip-and-israel-flash-update-6>.


Israeli occupation forces said two Israeli officers were wounded in an
alleged shooting attack by a Palestinian outside the occupied Old City of
Jerusalem on Thursday. Israeli forces shot and killed the Palestinian, who
was identified as Khalid al-Muhtasib.

A picture of the makeshift Carlo submachine gun he allegedly used was
shared by Israeli police:
Israeli occupation forces fired tear gas canisters near al-Muhtasib’s house
following his killing, local media reported
<https://twitter.com/AlQastalps/status/1712554035281383826>.

On Thursday, Israeli forces killed Randa Abdallah Ajaj
<https://www.facebook.com/mohps/posts/pfbid02px3yBj6uf1UCi7ZUsAYXamuvM9rLrFsv4X7ekFmpYAni5ZEZZnUw3SVrwWhihP38l>,
a 37-year-old woman from the town of Deir Jarir near Ramallah. Her picture
was circulated by local media:

ارتقاء السيدة رندة عجاج من دير جرير شرق رام الله متأثرة بإصابتها برصاص قوات
الاحتلال مساء اليوم pic.twitter.com/J2poIHS7B8 <https://t.co/J2poIHS7B8>
— القسطل الاخباري | القدس (@AlQastalps) October 12, 2023
<https://twitter.com/AlQastalps/status/1712548494454698394?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw>

The same day, Israeli occupation forces killed teenager Muhtadi Majid Salem
in the village of Jayyous near the northern city of Qalqilya, the
Palestinian Authority health ministry said
<https://www.facebook.com/mohps/posts/pfbid03178a2v9FHCMYbxptcNPWyed6cRYxMQzqdG992PEUXrdfXvdyCqrvVYixWkEhtiBrl>.


تغطية صحفية: "الفتى مهتدي ماجد سليم (١٧ عاماً) الذي ارتقى برصاص الاحتلال
الحي في بلدة جيوس شمال قلقيلية". pic.twitter.com/P8ctHaWl9L
<https://t.co/P8ctHaWl9L>
— شبكة قدس الإخبارية (@qudsn) October 12, 2023
<https://twitter.com/qudsn/status/1712565611769819236?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw>

And in Nabi Elias, near Qalqilya, Israeli forces shot dead
<https://www.facebook.com/mohps/posts/pfbid02DCNSVUCHmnd9g33DgxYH2RPWpLdSa19uN9kQSdkcGXa2EbXqby8gx5kyoVxUm7pHl>
22-year-old Samir Saeed Radwan. Settlers attack funeral

On Thursday morning, Israeli settlers attacked a funeral procession of
Palestinians who had been killed by Israeli fire the day before in Qusra, a
village near the northern West Bank city of Nablus.

The settlers killed two people – a father and a son – at the funeral.

The men killed
<https://www.facebook.com/mohps/posts/pfbid0JMAosxQjPMVpZcvGDNJsX1zmmt889kJwoHdAJnW6nF8aoQ1wTooB4evGZsrb2k15l>
were Ibrahim Ahmad Wadi, 62, and his son Ahmad Ibrahim Wadi, 25.

They were attacked as the funeral procession passed through the villages of
al-Sawiya and Luban al-Sharkiya near Nablus.

A picture of the father and his son was circulated by local media:

مصادر محلية: إبراهيم الوادي ونجله أحمد من بلدة قصرة جنوب نابلس، استشهدا
جرّاء هجوم المستوطنين على موكب تشييع شــهــداء قصرة الذين ارتقوا أمس، أثناء
مروره قرب بلدتي الساوية واللبن الشرقية. pic.twitter.com/d0neGOWvLi
<https://t.co/d0neGOWvLi>
— شبكة قدس الإخبارية (@qudsn) October 12, 2023
<https://twitter.com/qudsn/status/1712402403599798339?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw>

Media coverage: "The moment a Palestinian father and his son were brutally
massacred by Israeli settlers near the village of Sawiya, adjacent to the
Nablus-Ramallah road in the occupied West Bank, earlier today."
pic.twitter.com/CGvKVDXb99 <https://t.co/CGvKVDXb99>
— Quds News Network (@QudsNen) October 12, 2023
<https://twitter.com/QudsNen/status/1712497498923676157?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw>

Three Palestinians were killed by Israeli settlers the day before in the
same village of Qusra, and a fourth was killed by a soldier. One of the
killed Palestinians was identified as Hasan Odeh.

تغطية صحفية: "إلقاء نظرة الوداع على جثمان الشاب حسن عودة الذي ارتقى برفقة
ثلاثة شبان في مواجهات مع المستوطنين وجيش الاحتلال ببلدة قصرة".
pic.twitter.com/xeBskFDXOF <https://t.co/xeBskFDXOF>
— شبكة قدس الإخبارية (@qudsn) October 11, 2023
<https://twitter.com/qudsn/status/1712148990676906456?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw>

At least seven Israeli settlers, some masked, invaded the village of Qusra
on Wednesday with the protection of Israeli soldiers, and attacked the home
of a Palestinian family, a field investigation by Defense for Children
International - Palestine found
<https://www.dci-palestine.org/israeli_settlers_soldiers_fatally_shoot_17_year_old_palestinian_boy>.


Israeli settlers and soldiers fired “indiscriminately” at Palestinians who
confronted the attackers, according to DCIP.

Israeli gunfire killed at least three Palestinians, including 17-year-old
Obada Saed Abu Srour, who was shot in the back with the bullet exiting his
chest.

BREAKING: 17-year-old Obada Sa'ed Awad Abu Srour was fatally shot in the
back as Israeli settlers and soldiers fired upon Palestinians in the
village of Qusra in the northern occupied West Bank. It is not clear if the
fatal bullet was fired by an Israeli settler or soldier.
pic.twitter.com/tiSugTaNIM <https://t.co/tiSugTaNIM>
— Defense for Children (@DCIPalestine) October 11, 2023
<https://twitter.com/DCIPalestine/status/1712152320392282564?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw>

DCIP was unable to confirm whether the bullet was fired by an Israeli
soldier or settler.

The settlers came from the Israeli outpost of Esh Kodesh, which was
established <https://maki.org.il/en/?p=27143> in the year 2000 on
Palestinian land stolen from the nearby villages of Qusra and Jalud.

Israelis “illegally settled in occupied territory are armed by the Israeli
government as a matter of official policy,” said Ayed Abu Eqtaish of DCIP.

“Israeli soldiers, police and private security staff not only protect
Israeli settler populations, but they also aid, abet and perpetrate
unlawful killings of Palestinians, including children.”

The Israeli army reportedly heard gunfire and saw the masked settlers
leaving the village in a motorized vehicle, according to an Israeli
“security” source who spoke
<https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/2023-10-11/ty-article/.premium/palestinian-health-ministry-3-palestinians-killed-in-west-bank-village-by-masked-settlers/0000018b-1f43-df31-a99f-7fc316c90000>
to Tel Aviv daily *Haaretz*.

Footage shared by an Israeli journalist shows masked settlers shooting in
multiple directions near Palestinian homes.

יש קבינט חירום. יש מלחמה בעזה. יש מתיחות שיא בצפון ויש גם 3 הרוגים ותשעה
פצועים מירי חי בקוסרא ליד שכם. במשרד הבריאות הפלסטיני מדווחים כי ההרוגים
מירי מתנחלים. pic.twitter.com/JJglM9XGh2 <https://t.co/JJglM9XGh2>
— Jack khoury.جاك خوري (@KhJacki) October 11, 2023
<https://twitter.com/KhJacki/status/1712107232274370943?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw>

Israeli fire injured 12 additional Palestinians in the same settler attack
on Qusra. Settlers also set fire to property, Yesh Din said.

The head of the village said settlers had attacked family houses with
children inside, *Haaretz* reported.

Israeli occupation forces killed a 16-year-old teen in the town of Bani
Naim, east of Hebron in the southern occupied West Bank, on Wednesday
evening.

He was identified
<https://www.dci-palestine.org/israeli_forces_shoot_kill_16_year_old_palestinian_boy_near_hebron>
as Munis Ribhi Zeidat by DCIP, and his picture was circulated on social
media.

Last night around 8:15 pm, Israeli forces shot and killed 16-year-old
Mo'nes Rebhi Mousa Zeidat in the Palestinian village of Bani Naim, east of
Hebron in the southern occupied West Bank.
7 Palestinian children have been shot and killed in the occupied West Bank
since Saturday. pic.twitter.com/rAkGktNH7B <https://t.co/rAkGktNH7B>
— Defense for Children (@DCIPalestine) October 12, 2023
<https://twitter.com/DCIPalestine/status/1712453003842564407?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw>

On 10 October, Israeli forces shot 31-year-old Muntasir Abd al-Hamid Zaaqiq
in the head in Beit Ummar, north of Hebron. Zaaqiq previously spent seven
years in Israeli jails, according <https://wafa.ps/Pages/Details/80213> to
the news agency WAFA. Killing children

In the early hours of 9 October, Israeli forces shot
<https://www.dci-palestine.org/israeli_forces_shoot_and_kill_four_palestinian_boys_in_west_bank>
a 17-year-old boy in the head with live ammunition at the Qalandiya
checkpoint, where Israel controls Palestinian movement between Ramallah and
Jerusalem.

Israeli forces exchanged fire with Palestinian youth, after which Adam
Amjad al-Julani and other young Palestinians threw stones at the checkpoint.

The Israeli forces fired live ammunition at the group indiscriminately,
striking Adam in the head and killing him instantly.

Israeli forces killed another teenager at the checkpoint the night before.
Yaser Thaer Kasba, 17, threw a Molotov cocktail towards a military
observation tower near the checkpoint.

Israeli forces shot him in the back as he fled from a distance of 100
meters.

Israeli forces shot and killed four Palestinian boys across the occupied
West Bank on October 8 and 9: Yousef Nader Sulieman Idris, 16, Imad Jareh
Majed Adaily, 16 , Yaser Thaer Sami Kasba, 17, and Adam Amjad Fathi
Al-Juliani, 17. https://t.co/1wzCew9NVj pic.twitter.com/DmMLkINh30
<https://t.co/DmMLkINh30>
— Defense for Children (@DCIPalestine) October 9, 2023
<https://twitter.com/DCIPalestine/status/1711415334702293354?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw>

In Beita village, south of the city of Nablus, Israeli forces killed Imad
Jared Adaily, aged 16.

Palestinian youth had confronted Israeli forces near a vegetable market
when Israeli forces fired live ammunition from a distance of 100 meters at
Imad, hitting him between his chest and neck.

“He laid on the ground bleeding profusely for several minutes,” according
to DCIP, before he was transferred to the hospital and pronounced dead.

A second teenager was killed by Israeli forces in Hebron the same evening.
Israeli forces fired heavily at a group of Palestinian youth throwing
stones, injuring Yousef Nader Idris in the chest and killing him.

He was 16 years old.

Another Palestinian 18-year-old, Mahmoud Basem Ikhmais was killed
<https://pchrgaza.org/en/coinciding-with-full-scale-aggression-on-gaza-strip-5-palestinian-civilians-including-2-children-shot-dead-by-israeli-occupation-forces-in-west-bank/>,
in the same attack, according
<https://pchrgaza.org/en/coinciding-with-full-scale-aggression-on-gaza-strip-5-palestinian-civilians-including-2-children-shot-dead-by-israeli-occupation-forces-in-west-bank/>
to the Palestinian Center for Human Rights.

On Saturday evening, Israeli forces shot
<https://www.dci-palestine.org/israeli_forces_shoot_dead_12_year_old_palestinian_boy_in_qalqilya>
12-year-old Ahmad Abd al-Nasir Rabi near the Eyal checkpoint in the
northern occupied West Bank city of Qalqilya.

Ahmad was with other Palestinian youths approaching the crossing when an
Israeli soldier shot the boy from a distance of 50 to 100 meters. Ahmad was
part of a demonstration in solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza.

On Saturday, Palestinians in Ramallah organized a mass protest that moved
towards a checkpoint near the Beit El settlement, north of the occupied
West Bank city of Ramallah.

Israeli occupation forces fired live ammunition, rubber-coated steel
bullets, stun grenades and tear gas canisters at Palestinians who had set
tires on fire, resulting in the death of Amr Yousef Abed, 19, PCHR reported.

In the West Bank city of Jericho on Saturday, Israeli forces attacked
another protest, using live ammunition, rubber-coated steel bullets, stun
grenades and tear gas canisters. Israeli fire killed 22-year-old Karam
Naser al-Aydi.

As Israel’s bombardment of Gaza intensifies, the West Bank remains on a
cliff-edge.

More than 1,000 Palestinian workers from Gaza who work in Israel have,
meanwhile, been expelled
<https://ochaopt.org/content/hostilities-gaza-strip-and-israel-flash-update-5>
to the occupied West Bank.
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