Palestinian student killed in West Bank attack by radical settlers

A 20-year-old Palestinian student was killed in an attack by radical Israeli settlers on a village in the West Bank, according to Palestinian sources. According to the Red Crescent emergency service, two other people were injured by gunfire in the incident in the town of Haja near the Palestinian town of Kalkilia. When asked, an Israeli army spokesman said they were checking the reports.

According to information from the village, radical settlers came to the town on Sunday evening and opened fire on residents. The student was hit in the head and later died from his injuries. Another Palestinian was critically injured.

Violence has been increasing for months in the Israeli-occupied West Bank. Radical Israeli settlers repeatedly attack Palestinian residents. There has also been increased violence recently between Palestinians and Israeli soldiers. In addition, the Israeli military is repeatedly accused of not taking decisive action against attacks on Palestinians or even cooperating with the settlers.

This year alone, more than 80 Palestinians have been killed in the West Bank, about a quarter of them by settlers, according to the Palestinian Ministry of Health.

Recently there has also been criticism from the USA

The latest incidents are also causing increasing international criticism. Recently, the USA, which is considered settler-friendly under President Donald Trump's administration, also called for tougher action by the Israeli government against radical settlers.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu now appears to have responded to this: According to reports from the news agencies Reuters and AFP, he is said to have ordered the evacuation of unauthorized settler outposts in the West Bank. There is no official confirmation of this yet. Netanyahu recently condemned radical settlers who occupied the houses of Palestinians in the village of Kusra in the West Bank in an unusually strong manner.

The United Nations and most states classify all Israeli settlements as illegal. They view the West Bank as occupied territory under military control. Israel argues, however, that this is disputed and not occupied territory.

The situation in the occupied West Bank has deteriorated further since the Hamas massacre on October 7, 2023 and the Gaza war it triggered. According to the Palestinian Ministry of Health, more than 1,100 Palestinians have since been killed there in Israeli military operations, armed clashes and their own attacks.