Israeli settlers launch second West Bank rampage within 24 hours

Israeli settlers continued rampaging through the occupied West Bank on 21 June, torching homes, stores, and vehicles, and assaulting Palestinians in the Ramallah village of Turmus Aya under the protection of the Israeli army.

This comes right after a massive settler incursion into Nablus the night before.

During Wednesday’s rampage, one Palestinian was killed, and several were injured.

The dead Palestinian has been identified as 27-year-old Omar Qateen. He was killed by Israeli troops while confronting settlers in Turmus Aya.

Dozens of homes and vehicles in Turmus Aya and elsewhere in Ramallah were set ablaze by Israeli settlers.

Despite the military condemning the acts of arson and violence against Palestinians, no arrests were made.

The Times of Israel referred to the Israeli attackers as “settler vigilantes.”

The new rampage comes less than 24 hours after Israeli settlers stormed Nablus in response to the shooting and killing of four Israelis in the Eli settlement north of Ramallah on 20 June.

The settlers stormed several areas of Nablus and set fire to around 140 vehicles, as well as huge swathes of Palestinian farmland.

Settlers have launched such rampages in the past, particularly in response to resistance operations.

In late February, following a shooting that killed two Israelis, scores of settlers launched a massive ‘pogrom’ in Nablus’ Huwara village, killing a Palestinian, torching about 75 homes, and injuring more than 350.

At the time, Israel’s Finance Minister, Bezalel Smotrich, infamously said following the rampage that the town of Huwara should be “wiped out.”

On 19 June, the Israeli army launched a brutal raid in the West Bank city of Jenin, conducting the first aerial attack on the West Bank in over 20 years.

During the assault, journalists were shot at, and over three dozen Palestinians were wounded. Seven Israeli soldiers were also injured in an explosive attack against their vehicles.

These escalations come as the Israeli security establishment is considering a full-scale military operation in the West Bank, which Israel has admitted would be costly.

This is meant to confront the growing presence of West Bank-based resistance factions such as the Lions’ Den and the Jenin and Nablus Brigades of the Gaza-based Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ), which have been highly active in opposing Israeli raids.