An attack perpetrated by Israeli settlers against the Palestinian town of Tell, in the north of the West Bank, has left four Palestinians dead this morning, all belonging to the same family, in addition to four injured —three in critical condition— and two other deceased Israelis, a reservist and a soldier.
The Palestinian Ministry of Health has confirmed through a statement the death of four people and has specified that another four have been injured, three of them seriously, after a group of settlers stormed several houses located in the east of the town, near the settlement of Havat Gilad, south of Nablus, according to the official Palestinian agency WAFA.
A spokesperson for the Ministry has indicated that Israeli soldiers and settlers would have opened fire "indiscriminately" against Palestinian civilians in the area, and has specified that the Palestinian fatalities are two brothers and their cousins. He has also accused the Israeli forces of having transformed the town into a "closed military zone."
The mayor of Tell, Walid Zidan, has detailed that around twenty settlers participated in the assault, which occurred approximately between 7:30 and 8:00 a.m. (local time). "The residents quickly came to the defense of the homeowners in the area. A verbal confrontation with the settlers turned into a physical fight when the villagers tried to repel the attack," he explained in a statement released by the Palestinian agency Sanad.
"There is widespread incitement by Israeli leaders. We assert that it is the settlers who attack Palestinians, raid their homes, and seize land, leaving residents with no choice but to defend themselves," the mayor denounced.
For his part, Isam Al Saifi, local secretary of the Palestinian movement Al Fatah, has accused Israeli soldiers of collaborating with the settlers, who were armed and opened fire on Palestinian inhabitants. According to data from the Palestinian Ministry of Health, since the beginning of the year, 87 Palestinians have died in the West Bank governorates, 21 of them at the hands of settlers.
The Israeli authorities, on the other hand, have reported two Israeli deaths. The first has been identified as Benayahu Mellet, 32 years old, a "civil security officer" and reservist, who lost his life when a Palestinian took his weapon and began shooting at the settlers who were attacking the locality. The Palestinian government claims that the Palestinian acted in legitimate defense and accuses the settlers of opening fire indiscriminately against the local population.
The second Israeli victim is the soldier Yuval Ezra, 27 years old, battery commander of the 411th Battalion of the 282nd Artillery Regiment and a native of Herzliya, according to confirmation from the Army, also hit by the shots from the same Palestinian citizen.
According to the version provided by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), the troops were deployed in an area near Tell after several settlers reported an attack while hiking in the surroundings. "A terrorist stole a weapon from an officer and opened fire on Israeli civilians," they indicated, before assuring that the soldiers "quickly eliminated the terrorist who perpetrated the attack." "He was quickly eliminated and the weapon was recovered," they added.
Response from the Israeli Government and increase in tension
The Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, has promised to act "firmly" and has called a security meeting with the Minister of Defense, Israel Katz, and the Chief of the Army, Eyal Zamir, to analyze what happened, according to a statement released by his office.
"We will act with all possible force against the terrorists and those who send them, and we will not allow terrorism to rise again in the area," Netanyahu has stated, who has indicated that he will study "options to respond to this murderous attack near Havat Gilad."
Netanyahu has ordered to reinforce the deployment of armed forces in the West Bank after the serious incidents and has announced his intention to promote new "outposts" of settlers, even those that Israeli legislation itself considers illegal, as well as the regularization of those already existing.
The Chief of Staff, Eyal Zamir, has instructed to increase military presence in the affected area throughout the morning, after describing what happened as a "serious terrorist attack," and has demanded to "capture" all those involved.
In the same line, the Minister of Finance, the far-right Bezalel Smotrich, has demanded that the Armed Forces "take decisive action against the Palestinians" after the confrontation. "We cannot normalize the weakening or the re-emergence of our enemies against the pioneers of the settlements and the farms. I demand that the IDF act firmly against the locality responsible for the violence and the residents of its surroundings," he has pointed out in a message published on social media.
"The heroic agricultural workers and pioneers are the protective wall of the State of Israel. We will continue to strengthen and honor them for their firm defense of our existence in the land of Israel against Arab terrorism," Smotrich has added, who has urged to "take control of the entire area."