Two settlers killed in Hawara operation A martyr, more than 100 wounded and dozens of Palestinian homes burned in settler attacks

A Palestinian was martyred and more than 100 others were injured in the town of Hawara and its neighboring villages, south of Nablus, after two settlers were killed in a shooting attack, while the Palestinian Authority held Israel responsible for the settlers' horrific crimes against Palestinians.

The Palestinian Ministry of Health announced the martyrdom of Sameh Aqtash, 37, and the injury of dozens, in attacks carried out by settlers and the Israeli army south of Nablus.

Settlers launched retaliatory attacks on Palestinian homes in these villages, burning more than 30 homes, commercial establishments and a large number of Palestinian cars, while the occupation forces prevented civil defense teams from reaching the burning homes.

Al Jazeera correspondent reported that dozens of settlers, under the protection of Israeli soldiers, took to the main street and the junctions leading to Nablus and threw stones at houses, and the occupation forces also fired tear gas canisters at citizens' homes near Beit Furik checkpoint (east of Nablus).

Operation Hawara

These developments came after the Hawara operation, which the Israeli army radio said took place near the Einabus roundabout in the town, where an Israeli vehicle was attacked with bullets that led to the death of the two settlers.

Eyewitnesses told Al Jazeera that a Palestinian car rammed the settlers' car, then a gunman got out and shot them inside their vehicle and fled.

Al-Jazeera correspondent Samir Abu Shamaleh said that the Israeli army sent reinforcements, closed the main roads and axes, and launched a wide sweep and raid operation in search of the attacker, Al-Jazeera correspondent Samir Abu Shamaleh said.

IDF Chief of Staff Hertzi Halevy ordered the deployment of more occupation forces to the West Bank, specifically to the Nablus area, to curb what a statement issued by the military spokesperson of the occupation forces described as "sabotage attacks and riots", and to enhance search efforts and arrest the perpetrators of the Huwwara operation.

The statement added that the decision was made following an inspection visit by Halevy to the site of the Hawara operation and an assessment of the security situation in the area.

According to the spokesperson of the occupation forces, the Israeli army has sent two new military battalions to the West Bank, and the occupation forces announced tightening security measures in the vicinity of Nablus.

An Israeli military official warned of a loss of control that, he said, would lead to massacres, while "religious Zionist" ministers in Netanyahu's government continued to incite settlers and threaten Palestinians with more attacks.

In his first comment on the attack, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that the army and security forces will arrest the attacker who killed two settlers, calling on settlers not to take the law into their own hands and allow the army and security forces to do their job.

Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Galant said that "citizens' violation of the law puts them at risk and harms the activity of our forces in pursuit of terrorists," calling on settlers not to take the law into their own hands.

Feedback

The Palestinian presidency said Israeli settler attacks in the West Bank are aimed at destroying international efforts to try to get out of the current crisis.

In a statement published by the Palestinian official agency Wafa, the presidency said it condemns the settlers' attacks on Palestinians and their property south of Nablus.

She added that these attacks are terrorist acts carried out under the protection of the Israeli army, and that this terrorism and those who stand behind it aim to destroy and thwart international efforts to try to resolve the current crisis.

The Palestinian presidency held the Israeli government fully responsible for the attacks.

For his part, Hamas spokesman Hazem Qassem said that the operation is a natural reaction to the crimes of the occupation, stressing that the resistance in the West Bank will remain present and escalate, and no plan or summit will be able to stop it.

On Sunday evening, Saleh al-Arouri, deputy head of Hamas' political bureau, called on Palestinians to mobilize to confront Israeli settlers.

"We call on the masses of our people in Palestine to urgently mobilize and clash with the occupation and its settlers in support of the town of Huwwara and its surroundings," al-Arouri said in a statement.

The Islamic Jihad Movement blessed the operation, which it described as heroic, stressing that it came in fulfillment of the resistance's promise to avenge the blood of Quds Brigades commanders Muhammad al-Junaidi and Husam Aslam, and is a natural and legitimate response to the crimes of the occupation.

For its part, the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) praised the shooting, stressing that it constitutes a real response to the Aqaba summit, which came to try to quell the Palestinian people's uprising.

The National Liberation Movement (Fatah) called on its cadres to confront settler attacks on the Palestinian people, stressing that settler attacks under the protection of the occupation army are an expression of the bloody approach of successive occupation governments.

Angry demonstrations

In Nablus, demonstrators chanted against Israeli measures and attacks, and in Ramallah, a mass demonstration was held demanding protection for Palestinians from Israeli attacks in the town of Huwwara and in all Palestinian cities and towns.

On Sunday evening, dozens of Palestinian youths demonstrated near the fence between the Gaza Strip and Israel, denouncing settler attacks in the West Bank.

The demonstrators burned tires, threw sound bombs, and chanted slogans rejecting settler attacks. At the same time, Israeli soldiers intensified their position near the fence separating the Gaza Strip.

International positions

Outside of Palestine, the European Union on Sunday called on the Palestinian and Israeli sides to "stop the violence" in the West Bank and intervene urgently to protect civilians and prevent further casualties.

In a statement posted on its Twitter account, the European Union expressed its alarm at the violence today in Hawara in the occupied West Bank, after two Israelis were killed, settlers attacked Palestinian homes and property, and civilians were injured and one of them was killed during these attacks.

The French Foreign Ministry said it was following with great concern the ongoing violence in the West Bank - particularly in Huwwara - which threatens to escalate out of control.

In its statement, the French Foreign Ministry condemned the Hawara shooting that killed two settlers on Sunday, expressed its rejection of violence against Palestinian civilians, and called on the Israeli government - as part of its responsibility as an occupying power - to protect Palestinian civilians and prosecute the perpetrators of yesterday's violence, according to the statement.

British Ambassador to Tel Aviv Neil Wigan described the events in the Hawara area as appalling and called on Israel to address the settler violence that led to the death of a Palestinian and the wounding of others. In a tweet, Wigan also condemned the shooting attack in Huwwara that killed two settlers.

Source: Al Jazeera + Agencies