Israeli police said Saturday that they arrested two Israeli settlers after they allegedly stormed a Palestinian village in the West Bank in a rampage that left one Palestinian dead.
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Armed settlers entered Burqa, a herding village east of the city of Ramallah, late Friday, shooting and allegedly killing 19-year-old Qusai Matan, Palestinian health officials said.
Israeli media reported that one of the arrested settlers used to work as an aide, who remained unnamed, for a lawmaker of the far-Right Otzma Yehudit party which is in Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's Coalition. It includes Itamar Ben-Gvir, a pro-settlement firebrand known for hardline positions against Palestinians.
The party couldn't be reached for comment.
Video: IDF forces hunt down terrorists in Judea and Samaria / Usage under Israel's Intellectual Property Law Section 27a
Police said they arrested two settlers after detaining five for questioning. The other settler who was arrested was hospitalized after sustaining injuries Friday night. Authorities did not elaborate on the charges.
The army said that Israeli settlers arrived in the area to herd sheep, leading to clashes between Israelis and Palestinians from the village. Both sides hurled rocks at each other, the army said, and Israelis fired at Palestinians, leaving Matai dead and four Palestinians and several Israelis injured by rocks.
The village was closed down and more Israeli troops were stationed in the area surrounding it.
Palestinian officials said the settlers also burned two cars in the village. They also called for the perpetrators to be punished.
The rampage drew criticism from the U.K. embassy in Israel, which wrote on social media that it was "appalled" by the settler attacks and called for accountability and justice for those involved.
Yair Lapid, the Opposition leader said that violent settler attacks in the West Bank endanger other settlers, describing most as "law-abiding civilians." He added that the attacks are emboldened by members of Netanyahu's coalition.
"The backing they receive from the most extreme coalition in the country's history is a political attack," he wrote on the platform X, formerly known as Twitter.
Violence has spiraled in the northern West Bank with the rise of shooting attacks by Palestinian terrorists against Israelis.
At least 26 people have been killed in Palestinian attacks against Israelis so far this year.
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