By Ali Sawafta
RAMALLAH, July 25 (Reuters) – Israeli forces arrested dozens of Palestinians in the occupied West Bank on Saturday, after at least four Palestinians and two Israeli soldiers were killed in a shootout when armed Israeli settlers approached a Palestinian village.
Palestinian authorities in the West Bank said Friday’s shootings were provoked by the settlers who aimed to attack villagers in Tal, southwest of Nablus. The Israeli military initially described the Israeli civilians involved in the incident as hikers, but later acknowledged some were armed and said both sides had opened fire before troops intervened.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed to take “powerful action” in response to the incident, including demolishing the home of the family of one of the Palestinians involved. Netanyahu’s office said he would accelerate the approval of construction of more Israeli settlements in the area.
Walid Zidan, the mayor of Tal, said around 70 people from the village had been detained and questioned at a field interrogation centre set up in a house in the village. Around 10 to 12 had been released so far, he told Reuters by telephone.
“House raids are continuing, army patrols are driving through the streets, and there is no movement of people in the streets,” he said.
Hundreds of thousands of Israeli settlers live among millions of Palestinians in the West Bank, which Israel captured in a war in 1967. Nearly all countries and UN bodies consider such settlements illegal under international law. Israel disputes this, citing biblical and historical ties to the land.
Recent months have seen a sharp increase in attacks by Israeli settlers on Palestinian villages.
Friday’s incident took place in the so-called “area A” of the West Bank, where Palestinian authorities have administrative control and Israeli civilians are barred under Israeli law from entering. Area A comprises less than a fifth of the West Bank.
Footage circulating on social media of the incident that led to Friday’s shootout appeared to show a confused standoff between a crowd of villagers and a large group of Israelis, at least some of them armed, with soldiers also visible.
At one point, at least two Israelis are seen pushing and hitting Palestinians with the stocks of their rifles, before one of the Palestinians seizes one of the weapons and is then apparently shot dead.
In the background, voices can be heard shouting in Hebrew “Get away,” “He’s trying to snatch his weapon. He’s snatched his weapon,” and “Shoot him!” A child’s voice is heard shouting “Revenge!”
Reuters has not been able to authenticate the footage independently.
CONFRONTATION
Israel’s army chief Lieutenant General Eyal Zamir said the security operation launched after the shootings was intended “to thwart terrorism, ensure the security of Israeli civilians and prevent further escalation”.
Zidan, the mayor, said the incident had been triggered by Israeli settlers deliberately harassing the village.
“The settlers were not following a route or trail, as they claim. They intended to attack the homes,” Zidan said. “People did not go there looking for a confrontation with them; they were simply defending their homes, nothing more and nothing less.”
The sharp increase in settler attacks on Palestinian villages in the West Bank seen in recent months has drawn condemnation from international agencies and countries in Europe but has done little to reverse the trend.
(Additional reporting by Maayan Lubell in JerusalemWriting by James MackenzieEditing by Peter Graff)
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