Palestinian vice-president Hussein Al-Sheikh has condemned the killing of three Palestinians by the Israeli army during a raid by Israeli settlers on the West Bank village of Kafr Malik on Wednesday.
Mr Al-Sheikh posted on X: “The Israeli government’s behaviour and decisions are pushing the region toward an explosion. We call on the international community to urgently protect our Palestinian people.”
More than 100 settlers torched homes and cars and threw stones at residents of the town northeast of Ramallah. As residents of neighbouring villages attempted to intervene, Israeli troops opened fire.
The Palestinian Red Crescent said five Palestinians had also suffered gunshot wounds, with some in serious condition. Five Israeli settlers were detained and held in police custody for taking part in the attack.
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The foreign ministry of Jordan, which ruled the West Bank from 1948-67, condemned the attack on Kafr Malik and argued that impunity incites settlers to carry out such assaults, according to Jordan’s Petra news agency.
An Israeli military statement said dozens of Israelis set fire to property, and military and police forces were dispatched to the scene after receiving a report of ensuing violence that included an exchange of stone-throwing.
The military statement said several Palestinians opened fire and hurled rocks at the forces, who returned the fire. Five Israeli suspects were arrested. An Israeli army officer was lightly wounded.
A village of Crusader and Ottoman lineage, Kafr Malek is reported to have a population of about 2,900, according to the Palestinian bureau of statistics. Since the 1967 Israeli occupation, Kafr Malek’s land has been confiscated for Israeli settlements and the village has been frequently targeted by settlers.
Earlier on Wednesday, masked settlers set a car on fire near Ramallah and threw stones at Palestinians at Asira Al-Qibliya village southwest of Nablus in the northern West Bank.
On Thursday, the Palestinian news agency Wafa reported that settlers gathered near the village of Al-Minya, near Bethlehem, and stoned passing vehicles without inflicting injuries or damage.
Yesh Din, an Israeli human rights organisation that works in Israel and the West Bank, states on its website: “Incidents of violence by Israeli civilians against Palestinians and their property are a daily occurrence throughout the West Bank.”
Yesh Din says that while the Israeli public thinks this is perpetrated by a “handful” of ideologically motivated extremists, “In reality, this is a widespread practice involving many Israeli citizens and includes acts of violence, damage to property, takeover of Palestinian land, and other offenses.”
It argues that the attacks are “part of a calculated strategy for dispossessing Palestinians of their land”.
Last week, Britain joined Australia, Norway, Canada and New Zealand by sanctioning Israeli settler leaders Itamar Ben-Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich for their “repeated incitements of violence against Palestinian communities in the occupied West Bank. Israeli authorities called this move “outrageous.” Mr Ben-Gvir is police minister and Mr Smotrich holds the finance portfolio.
