Settler Violence Threatens to Ignite the West Bank as Two Palestinians Are Killed Near Ramallah

Two Palestinians were killed on Monday during an attack carried out by Israeli settlers near Ramallah in the central West Bank.

The Palestinian Ministry of Health announced the deaths of Awda Abdelrahim Awda Farakhna, 53, and Ahmed Adel Rashid Abu Mokho, 26, in the village of Deir Jarir, east of Ramallah.

In separate statements, the Palestine Red Crescent Society reported that its emergency teams evacuated three people injured during a settler attack on the village of Deir Jarir.

An eyewitness told Agence France-Presse (AFP) that “settlers, protected by the Israeli army and police, entered the old quarter of the village, where they searched homes and livestock shelters, assaulted residents, and stole sheep.”

The witness added that villagers attempted to repel the attack, leading to clashes during which “gunfire was directed at the village’s young men.”

He also noted that it was difficult to determine the source of the gunfire because of the complete darkness in the area.

The Israeli military did not immediately respond to AFP’s request for comment.

In a report published recently, the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) stated that Israeli settler violence in the occupied West Bank had reached a “record” level, averaging six attacks per day that resulted in casualties or property damage.

The report added that “more than 2,200 Palestinians have been displaced this year due to settler violence and other access restrictions, while hundreds more have been displaced following the demolition of their homes by the Israeli authorities.”

On Saturday, the Palestinian Ministry of Health announced the death of 17-year-old Palestinian football player Fadi Al-Naasan, one week after he was shot during an attack by Israeli settlers on the village of Al-Mughayyir in the occupied West Bank.

Excluding East Jerusalem, nearly three million Palestinians live in the West Bank alongside more than 500,000 Israelis residing in settlements that are considered illegal under international law.

Violence in the West Bank, which has been under Israeli occupation since 1967, has escalated since the outbreak of the war in Gaza.

According to an Agence France-Presse tally based on data from the Palestinian Authority, at least 1,089 Palestinians, including a number of armed militants, have been killed by Israeli soldiers or settlers since the beginning of the Gaza war, which erupted following Hamas’s attack on 7 October 2023.