Israeli settlers attacked Palestinian towns in the West Bank overnight on Tuesday, torching buildings and cars in apparent retaliation for the deadly terrorist attack by Hamas that killed four Israelis near the settlement of Eli the day before, residents and officials said.
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The Palestinians claim one person was killed during the riots. Israeli authorities say the man was apparently shot after he fired on police officers who had come to disperse the crowds.
Yaqoub Oweis, chairman of the village council of Al-Lubban Al-Sharqeya, said a large group of settlers attacked while Israeli soldiers and police stood by as they burned a petrol station, orchards, a cement factory, and dozens of cars.
Video: Reuters / Israeli settlers torch cars, buildings in Palestinian town
"The attack was unprecedented and abnormal," he said. "There was heavy gunfire but we couldn't distinguish whether it came from settlers or the soldiers because of the darkness." Attacks were also reported in other West Bank towns and villages.
The latest round of violence, after days of relative calm, underlined the volatility of the territory, where for over a year the military has been conducting regular sweeps leading to repeated clashes with Palestinian fighters.
The United States said it was "deeply concerned" by the rising violence, with State Department Spokesperson Matthew Miller calling the reports "troubling."
Palestinians have complained repeatedly of attacks by settlers in the West Bank, an issue that has also drawn mounting international concern, particularly following a rampage through the town of Hawara earlier this year.
The overnight attacks came hours after two gunmen fired on a roadside restaurant and gas station close to the settlement of Eli, killing four Israelis in an attack Hamas – the Islamist terror group that rules Gaza – said was a response to a major Israeli operation in the West Bank city of Jenin on Monday.
Local Palestinian families said settlers cut the road, forcing them to seek refuge at a gas station where they hid in their cars, before being forced to flee. "The settlers attacked the town, damaged and torched homes and cars," said Mahmoud Dawoud, from the village of Al-Lubban Al-Gharbeya, who added that the settlers smashed his car and two belonging to his brother.
There was no immediate comment from the Israeli military. Not long before the attack, National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, from one of the hard-right parties in Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's religious-nationalist coalition, called for tougher action and he repeated the call on Wednesday.
"We need a military operation, we need to flatten buildings, we need targeted killings," he told parliament. "That's how you act against terrorism."
However, other ministers played down the demand for additional measures. "There's no need for any new decisions, only adaptation of existing ones," Energy Minister Israel Katz, a member of the government Security Cabinet, told Army Radio.
In related news, the Israeli government on Sunday tabled plans to approve thousands of building permits in Judea and Samaria. The plans for approval of 4,560 housing units were included on the agenda of the Higher Planning Committee that meets next week, although only 1,332 are up for final approval, with the remainder still going through the preliminary clearance process.
"We will continue to develop the settlement of and strengthen the Israeli hold on the territory," said Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, who also holds a defense portfolio that gives him a leading role in Judea and Samaria administration.
Since entering office in January, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's Coalition has approved the promotion of over 7,000 new housing units, most deep in the West Bank. It also amended a law to clear the way for settlers to return to four settlements that had previously been evacuated.
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