3 Palestinians killed in West Bank clash, bringing toll from week of violence to 6

This is a locator map of Israel and the Palestinian Territories. (AP Photo)

ABU FALAH, West Bank — Three Palestinians were killed in a violent clash with settlers in the Israeli-occupied West Bank on Sunday, bringing the number of Palestinians killed in recent days to six. The surge in violence comes as much of Israel and the world’s attention is focused on the regional war with Iran.

The Israeli military said it responded to reports of Israeli settlers attacking Palestinians near Khirbet Abu Falah, east of Ramallah. Two Palestinians were killed from gunfire and a third died from suffocation, likely due to tear gas, the military said.

Two of the victims, Fare’ Hamayel and Thaer Hamayel, were cousins. The third man killed was Mohammad Murra. All three were buried in a joint funeral.

Amin Shouman, a resident of Abu Falah who witnessed the attack, told The Associated Press that dozens of Israeli settlers approached the village from the north and opened fire when they were confronted by a guard committee along the border of the village.

The deaths follow several deadly incidents last week. One Palestinian was killed in the south Hebron Hills on Saturday by an Israeli reservist and settlers killed two Palestinian brothers in the northern West Bank on Monday.

In a rare rebuke, the Israeli military strongly condemned the settler violence and said it opened a criminal investigation against the settlers involved.

“This is an unacceptable incident. There will be zero tolerance for civilians who take the law into their own hands,” said Maj. Gen. Avi Bluth, the commander of the military’s Central Command that includes the West Bank. “Especially at a time when the IDF is striking our bitter enemies, Iran and Hezbollah, with a firm hand — we cannot allow reckless internal violence to undermine the rule of law and the security of the region.”

Palestinians and rights groups say that Israeli authorities routinely fail to prosecute settlers or hold them accountable for violence.

The Palestinian Authority’s Foreign Ministry on Saturday accused Israel of “exploiting the atmosphere of war” and the lack of international attention to issues in the West Bank to intensify intimidation, violence and forced displacement.

Yesh Din, an Israeli rights group, tracked more than 50 incidents of settler violence against Palestinians in the first four days of the war with Iran, which started on Feb. 28.

The Palestinian Red Crescent said checkpoint and gate closures imposed as a result of the war are creating mounting obstacles for first responders in the West Bank, including in incidents involving settler violence.

While there is no full lockdown, as there was following the Oct. 7, 2023, attack and last year’s war with Iran, Israel has erected hundreds of new gates across the territory, tightening movement between Palestinian towns and making emergency response significantly more difficult. There is now around 1,100, the Red Crescent said, compared with roughly 800 at the time of last year’s war.

Doctors and emergency workers say movement restrictions hamper their ability to respond quickly, especially following violent attacks by Israeli settlers. Many of the communities most vulnerable to such violence are in parts of the West Bank under full Israeli military and civil control, far from city-center hospitals and dependent on roads that can be sealed without prior notice.

Imad Isseid and Melanie Lidman, The Associated Press