Palestinian village in shock after attack by Israeli settlers
By AFP
By AFP
August 16, 2024
A girl comforts the mother of a Palestinian man killed during an attack by Jewish settlers on the village of Jit in the occupied West Bank - Copyright AFP TAUSEEF MUSTAFA
Mohamed Awad
The Israeli settlers who attacked Hassan Arman’s village of Jit in the occupied West Bank had a simple aim, he says: “To burn, kill, or destroy” — all of which took place that night.
Residents hid in fear while dozens of settlers ransacked their northern village late on Thursday, burning homes and cars, until eventually a young Palestinian man was shot dead.
Arman, whose car was destroyed by fire during the attack, said he had “never seen anything like it” in Jit as he opened the charred door of his vehicle.
Inside, everything had melted, leaving just a skeleton of twisted metal.
When the Jewish settlers reached his house, they were “in full uniform, armed with knives, a machine gun, and a silencer”, he said.
A few houses down, Muawiya al-Sada struggled for words as he stood in the scorched remains of his living room. Only the burnt wooden frame of his sofa remained after the cushions and fabric went up in flames.
“After they burned the house there, they came to this house, broke the windows, and threw firebombs — Molotov cocktails — inside,” he told AFP, while shards of glass from his window panes crunched under the weight of his boots.
Sada and his neighbours then heard gunshots which they later learned caused the death of Rashid Sulait, 23, who was said to have been shot in the back.
After that, “there was a brief period of calm, and then the army entered (the village).”
– Mourners in the streets –
Crowds gathered for the funeral on Friday where the young man’s body, wrapped in a Palestinian flag, was borne aloft by mourners and carried through the streets.
At the funeral, his uncle Muhannad Sada told AFP: “A bullet came from behind him and exited the other side, and he was martyred.”
“It was not the army who fired the bullets, but the settlers,” he added.
CCTV footage released by one resident showed masked men in black hoodies emerging from a field, setting fire to a car and breaking into a home, then setting upon a villager when he tried to chase them away.
The army said it dispersed the settlers from Jit, detaining one Israeli civilian.
The Palestinian Authority, which rules the West Bank from Ramallah, called the attack “organised state terrorism”.
Israel’s president and prime minister both denounced the attack, which drew widespread condemnation including from the United States, the United Nations, France, Germany and Britain.
The incident came at a tense time for the region, as negotiators try to hammer out a Gaza war ceasefire that could also douse threats by Iran and its proxies to attack Israel.
Violence in the West Bank, a Palestinian territory occupied by Israel since 1967 and separated from the Gaza Strip by Israeli territory, has surged during the Gaza war.
Israeli settlement of the occupied land — considered illegal under international law — has also hit new records since the war began on October 7.
Since then, at least 633 Palestinians have been killed in violence with settlers or Israeli troops, according to the Palestinian authorities.
At least 18 Israelis, including soldiers, have been killed in attacks involving Palestinians, according to official Israeli figures.
A girl comforts the mother of a Palestinian man killed during an attack by Jewish settlers on the village of Jit in the occupied West Bank - Copyright AFP TAUSEEF MUSTAFA
Mohamed Awad
The Israeli settlers who attacked Hassan Arman’s village of Jit in the occupied West Bank had a simple aim, he says: “To burn, kill, or destroy” — all of which took place that night.
Residents hid in fear while dozens of settlers ransacked their northern village late on Thursday, burning homes and cars, until eventually a young Palestinian man was shot dead.
Arman, whose car was destroyed by fire during the attack, said he had “never seen anything like it” in Jit as he opened the charred door of his vehicle.
Inside, everything had melted, leaving just a skeleton of twisted metal.
When the Jewish settlers reached his house, they were “in full uniform, armed with knives, a machine gun, and a silencer”, he said.
A few houses down, Muawiya al-Sada struggled for words as he stood in the scorched remains of his living room. Only the burnt wooden frame of his sofa remained after the cushions and fabric went up in flames.
“After they burned the house there, they came to this house, broke the windows, and threw firebombs — Molotov cocktails — inside,” he told AFP, while shards of glass from his window panes crunched under the weight of his boots.
Sada and his neighbours then heard gunshots which they later learned caused the death of Rashid Sulait, 23, who was said to have been shot in the back.
After that, “there was a brief period of calm, and then the army entered (the village).”
– Mourners in the streets –
Crowds gathered for the funeral on Friday where the young man’s body, wrapped in a Palestinian flag, was borne aloft by mourners and carried through the streets.
At the funeral, his uncle Muhannad Sada told AFP: “A bullet came from behind him and exited the other side, and he was martyred.”
“It was not the army who fired the bullets, but the settlers,” he added.
CCTV footage released by one resident showed masked men in black hoodies emerging from a field, setting fire to a car and breaking into a home, then setting upon a villager when he tried to chase them away.
The army said it dispersed the settlers from Jit, detaining one Israeli civilian.
The Palestinian Authority, which rules the West Bank from Ramallah, called the attack “organised state terrorism”.
Israel’s president and prime minister both denounced the attack, which drew widespread condemnation including from the United States, the United Nations, France, Germany and Britain.
The incident came at a tense time for the region, as negotiators try to hammer out a Gaza war ceasefire that could also douse threats by Iran and its proxies to attack Israel.
Violence in the West Bank, a Palestinian territory occupied by Israel since 1967 and separated from the Gaza Strip by Israeli territory, has surged during the Gaza war.
Israeli settlement of the occupied land — considered illegal under international law — has also hit new records since the war began on October 7.
Since then, at least 633 Palestinians have been killed in violence with settlers or Israeli troops, according to the Palestinian authorities.
At least 18 Israelis, including soldiers, have been killed in attacks involving Palestinians, according to official Israeli figures.
Settler rampage in West Bank sparks condemnations Issued on: 16/08/2024 -
Israeli forces provided protection to illegal settlers, prevented Palestinian civil defense vehicles from entering town of Jit, witnesses tell Anadolu
15/08/2024 Thursday
AA
More than 100 illegal Israeli settlers attacked a Palestinian town in the occupied West Bank, killing one person and setting fire to a home and several vehicles, according to multiple sources.
According to the witnesses, the settlers stormed the town of Jit, situated along the main road between Nablus and Qalqilya.
The attackers opened fire at residents, pelted stones at homes, and set fire to at least one house and several vehicles, they added.
The witnesses also said that Israeli forces provided protection to the illegal settlers and prevented Palestinian civil defense vehicles from entering the town.
Citing an Israeli security source, the Israeli army radio reported that more than 100 settlers stormed the town.
The source said that the settlers set fire to four homes and six vehicles owned by Palestinians, while hurling stones and Molotov cocktails at residents and their property.
“The incident ended without any arrests, while several Palestinians suffered from inhalation of tear gas” fired by Israeli soldiers, it added.
Over the past few years, the Israeli military has conducted regular raids in the West Bank, which have escalated with the beginning of the war on Gaza on Oct. 7, 2023.
At least 632 Palestinians have since been killed and nearly 5,400 others injured by Israeli army fire in the occupied territory, according to the Health Ministry.
In a landmark advisory opinion on July 19, the International Court of Justice declared Israel's decades-long occupation of Palestinian land "illegal" and demanded the evacuation of all existing settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem.
AA
More than 100 illegal Israeli settlers attacked a Palestinian town in the occupied West Bank, killing one person and setting fire to a home and several vehicles, according to multiple sources.
According to the witnesses, the settlers stormed the town of Jit, situated along the main road between Nablus and Qalqilya.
The attackers opened fire at residents, pelted stones at homes, and set fire to at least one house and several vehicles, they added.
The witnesses also said that Israeli forces provided protection to the illegal settlers and prevented Palestinian civil defense vehicles from entering the town.
Citing an Israeli security source, the Israeli army radio reported that more than 100 settlers stormed the town.
The source said that the settlers set fire to four homes and six vehicles owned by Palestinians, while hurling stones and Molotov cocktails at residents and their property.
“The incident ended without any arrests, while several Palestinians suffered from inhalation of tear gas” fired by Israeli soldiers, it added.
Over the past few years, the Israeli military has conducted regular raids in the West Bank, which have escalated with the beginning of the war on Gaza on Oct. 7, 2023.
At least 632 Palestinians have since been killed and nearly 5,400 others injured by Israeli army fire in the occupied territory, according to the Health Ministry.
In a landmark advisory opinion on July 19, the International Court of Justice declared Israel's decades-long occupation of Palestinian land "illegal" and demanded the evacuation of all existing settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem.
Palestinian killed as settlers torch homes and cars in West Bank village
Over 100 assailants take part in rampage in Jit; unclear who shot dead man in his 20s, while wounding another; suspect arrested; PM, Herzog, Gallant and others denounce violence
By Emanuel Fabian
and ToI Staff
One of the assailants who participated in the attack was detained and handed over to police, the IDF said.
The military also said it is looking into the death of the Palestinian amid the attack, and had launched a joint investigation with the police and Shin Bet security agency.
“The IDF condemns events of this type and the rioters, who harm security, law and order, and divert the IDF and the security forces from their main mission of thwarting terrorism and protecting the security of the residents,” the military added in a statement.
Police did not respond to requests for comment, directing The Times of Israel to the IDF’s statement.
The prime minister and president both issued strong condemnations of the rampage.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said he views the incident “with severity,” but appeared to frame the actions as a misguided attempt to fight terror, rather than as terrorism in of itself, saying: “Those who fight terrorism are only the IDF and security forces, not anyone else.”
The PMO added: “Those responsible for any crime will be caught and prosecuted.”
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President Isaac Herzog issued a statement saying he “strongly condemns” the riot.“This is an extreme minority that harms the law-abiding community of [settlers] and the settlement movement as a whole, in addition to harming the global reputation of Israel during a particularly sensitive and difficult period,” Herzog lamented.
“This is not our way and certainly not the way of Torah and Judaism. Law enforcement officials must act immediately against this dangerous phenomenon and bring the lawbreakers to justice.”
Defense Minister Yoav Gallant denounced the “handful of extremists” for rampaging in Jit “while our soldiers are fighting on various fronts to defend the State of Israel.”
“I firmly condemn any type of violence and give my full backing to the IDF, the Shin Bet and Israel Police to perform their roles and deal with matter severely,” Gallant wrote in Hebrew on X. “The extremist rioting goes against all moral commandments of the State of Israel.”
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He also published an English-language version of the tweet.
Interior Minister Moshe Arbel, meanwhile, urged the Shin Bet and other law enforcement bodies to “act immediately to eradicate the phenomenon of grave nationalistic crime that took place this evening against innocents in the village of Jit.”
Arbel, a member of the ultra-Orthodox Shas party, said the action “go against the values of Judaism, are a moral and human low point, and harm the State of Israel and the settlement enterprise in Judea and Samaria.”
Far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, who is also a minister in the Defense Ministry in charge of settlement affairs, said the storming of Jit was “not connected in any way to the settlement enterprise or to settlers.”
“They are criminals who should be dealt with to the full extent of the law by law enforcement authorities,” Smotrich said.
“We build and develop the settlements in a legal and stately manner, back the IDF in its struggle against terror, and strongly disagree with any display of criminal anarchist violence that has absolutely nothing to do with love of the land and settlement of it.”
Smotrich’s reaction was markedly different from his reaction last year to a similar settler rampage in the West Bank town of Huwara. Days after that incident, he triggered an international outcry by saying Huwara “needs to be wiped out” and that “the State of Israel should do it.”
“There’s no place for violence. Period,” said MK Zvi Sukkot of Smotrich’s Religious Zionism party, a longtime radical settler activist who last year set up a sukkah in Huwara amid clashes there between settlers and Palestinians that followed a terror shooting and other violent incidents.
National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir meanwhile lashed out at IDF Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi and Yoav Gallant, claiming they were to blame for the rampage in Jit.
“I told the chief of staff this evening that not backing soldiers in shooting any terrorist who throws rocks leads to the type of incidents like tonight,” Ben Gvir, who heads the ultranationalist Otzma Yehidut party and as head of the National Security Ministry is in charge of police, said in a statement.
“Despite this, it’s unequivocally forbidden to take the law into your own hands,” he continued, without explicitly denouncing the rioters. “It’s the IDF that needs to deal with terror and deterrence, including toward the terrorists from Jit. The time has come for the defense minister to leave this conception and do it.”
Illustrative: Settlers from the Givat Ronen outpost hurl stones at Palestinian protesters (unseen) during clashes in the West Bank village of Burin on April 15, 2014. (Jaafar Ashtiyeh / AFP)
Settler violence spiked after the October 7 massacre carried out by the Hamas terror group in southern Israel, in which some 1,200 people were killed and 251 were taken hostage, but violence was already on the rise before then, according to watchdogs.
Israeli authorities rarely arrest Jewish perpetrators in such attacks. Rights groups lament that convictions are even more unusual, and the vast majority of charges in such attacks are dropped.
Since October 7, troops have arrested some 4,850 wanted Palestinians across the West Bank, including more than 1,960 affiliated with Hamas.
According to the Palestinian Authority health ministry, more than 630 West Bank Palestinians have been killed in that time. The IDF says the vast majority of them were gunmen killed in exchanges of fire, rioters who clashed with troops or terrorists carrying out attacks.
There have also been several cases of settlers killing Palestinians in the past 10 months, some of which are still under investigation.
During the same period, 26 people, including Israeli security personnel, have been killed in terror attacks in Israel and the West Bank. Another five members of the security forces were killed in clashes with terror operatives in the West Bank.
Over 100 assailants take part in rampage in Jit; unclear who shot dead man in his 20s, while wounding another; suspect arrested; PM, Herzog, Gallant and others denounce violence
By Emanuel Fabian
and ToI Staff
Today
A home torched by masked settlers in the Palestinian town of Jit in the West Bank, August 15, 2024. (Screenshot: X; used in accordance with Clause 27a of the Copyright Law)
Dozens of extremist Israeli settlers, many of them masked, rampaged in the West Bank Palestinian village of Jit on Thursday night, setting fire to homes and vehicles. A Palestinian man was also reported killed amid the attack.
The settlers hurled stones and Molotov cocktails, torching at least four homes and six vehicles in the village, located just west of Nablus. More than 100 assailants were involved, according to an Israeli security official.
The Palestinian Authority health ministry said a 23-year-old Palestinian, named Rasheed Seda, was killed and another Palestinian civilian was critically wounded by the “settlers’ bullets.”
Supernova massacre survivors dance againKeep Watching
Israeli security sources said it was unclear who had shot the Palestinians.
The Israel Defense Forces said that minutes after the “grave incident” was reported, troops and border police officers were dispatched to the scene. The IDF said the troops used riot dispersal means and live fire in the air while taking the Israelis out of the village.
A home torched by masked settlers in the Palestinian town of Jit in the West Bank, August 15, 2024. (Screenshot: X; used in accordance with Clause 27a of the Copyright Law)
Dozens of extremist Israeli settlers, many of them masked, rampaged in the West Bank Palestinian village of Jit on Thursday night, setting fire to homes and vehicles. A Palestinian man was also reported killed amid the attack.
The settlers hurled stones and Molotov cocktails, torching at least four homes and six vehicles in the village, located just west of Nablus. More than 100 assailants were involved, according to an Israeli security official.
The Palestinian Authority health ministry said a 23-year-old Palestinian, named Rasheed Seda, was killed and another Palestinian civilian was critically wounded by the “settlers’ bullets.”
Supernova massacre survivors dance againKeep Watching
Israeli security sources said it was unclear who had shot the Palestinians.
The Israel Defense Forces said that minutes after the “grave incident” was reported, troops and border police officers were dispatched to the scene. The IDF said the troops used riot dispersal means and live fire in the air while taking the Israelis out of the village.
One of the assailants who participated in the attack was detained and handed over to police, the IDF said.
The military also said it is looking into the death of the Palestinian amid the attack, and had launched a joint investigation with the police and Shin Bet security agency.
“The IDF condemns events of this type and the rioters, who harm security, law and order, and divert the IDF and the security forces from their main mission of thwarting terrorism and protecting the security of the residents,” the military added in a statement.
Police did not respond to requests for comment, directing The Times of Israel to the IDF’s statement.
The prime minister and president both issued strong condemnations of the rampage.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said he views the incident “with severity,” but appeared to frame the actions as a misguided attempt to fight terror, rather than as terrorism in of itself, saying: “Those who fight terrorism are only the IDF and security forces, not anyone else.”
The PMO added: “Those responsible for any crime will be caught and prosecuted.”
Advertisement
President Isaac Herzog issued a statement saying he “strongly condemns” the riot.“This is an extreme minority that harms the law-abiding community of [settlers] and the settlement movement as a whole, in addition to harming the global reputation of Israel during a particularly sensitive and difficult period,” Herzog lamented.
“This is not our way and certainly not the way of Torah and Judaism. Law enforcement officials must act immediately against this dangerous phenomenon and bring the lawbreakers to justice.”
Defense Minister Yoav Gallant denounced the “handful of extremists” for rampaging in Jit “while our soldiers are fighting on various fronts to defend the State of Israel.”
“I firmly condemn any type of violence and give my full backing to the IDF, the Shin Bet and Israel Police to perform their roles and deal with matter severely,” Gallant wrote in Hebrew on X. “The extremist rioting goes against all moral commandments of the State of Israel.”
Advertisement
He also published an English-language version of the tweet.
Interior Minister Moshe Arbel, meanwhile, urged the Shin Bet and other law enforcement bodies to “act immediately to eradicate the phenomenon of grave nationalistic crime that took place this evening against innocents in the village of Jit.”
Arbel, a member of the ultra-Orthodox Shas party, said the action “go against the values of Judaism, are a moral and human low point, and harm the State of Israel and the settlement enterprise in Judea and Samaria.”
Far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, who is also a minister in the Defense Ministry in charge of settlement affairs, said the storming of Jit was “not connected in any way to the settlement enterprise or to settlers.”
“They are criminals who should be dealt with to the full extent of the law by law enforcement authorities,” Smotrich said.
“We build and develop the settlements in a legal and stately manner, back the IDF in its struggle against terror, and strongly disagree with any display of criminal anarchist violence that has absolutely nothing to do with love of the land and settlement of it.”
Smotrich’s reaction was markedly different from his reaction last year to a similar settler rampage in the West Bank town of Huwara. Days after that incident, he triggered an international outcry by saying Huwara “needs to be wiped out” and that “the State of Israel should do it.”
“There’s no place for violence. Period,” said MK Zvi Sukkot of Smotrich’s Religious Zionism party, a longtime radical settler activist who last year set up a sukkah in Huwara amid clashes there between settlers and Palestinians that followed a terror shooting and other violent incidents.
National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir meanwhile lashed out at IDF Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi and Yoav Gallant, claiming they were to blame for the rampage in Jit.
“I told the chief of staff this evening that not backing soldiers in shooting any terrorist who throws rocks leads to the type of incidents like tonight,” Ben Gvir, who heads the ultranationalist Otzma Yehidut party and as head of the National Security Ministry is in charge of police, said in a statement.
“Despite this, it’s unequivocally forbidden to take the law into your own hands,” he continued, without explicitly denouncing the rioters. “It’s the IDF that needs to deal with terror and deterrence, including toward the terrorists from Jit. The time has come for the defense minister to leave this conception and do it.”
Illustrative: Settlers from the Givat Ronen outpost hurl stones at Palestinian protesters (unseen) during clashes in the West Bank village of Burin on April 15, 2014. (Jaafar Ashtiyeh / AFP)
Settler violence spiked after the October 7 massacre carried out by the Hamas terror group in southern Israel, in which some 1,200 people were killed and 251 were taken hostage, but violence was already on the rise before then, according to watchdogs.
Israeli authorities rarely arrest Jewish perpetrators in such attacks. Rights groups lament that convictions are even more unusual, and the vast majority of charges in such attacks are dropped.
Since October 7, troops have arrested some 4,850 wanted Palestinians across the West Bank, including more than 1,960 affiliated with Hamas.
According to the Palestinian Authority health ministry, more than 630 West Bank Palestinians have been killed in that time. The IDF says the vast majority of them were gunmen killed in exchanges of fire, rioters who clashed with troops or terrorists carrying out attacks.
There have also been several cases of settlers killing Palestinians in the past 10 months, some of which are still under investigation.
During the same period, 26 people, including Israeli security personnel, have been killed in terror attacks in Israel and the West Bank. Another five members of the security forces were killed in clashes with terror operatives in the West Bank.
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