ISRAEL: Palestinian gunmen killed four Israelis in an attack near a Jewish settlement in the occupied West Bank. The Hamas group claimed it was retaliation for an Israeli military operation in Jenin. Four more people were injured, including a youngster. The attack occurred near a roadside eatery and petrol station near Eli village.
The Israeli military increased its presence in the West Bank following an assault on two assailants, identified as part of Hamas’s armed branch. Two people were killed in the incident: a bystander who responded and Israeli security personnel who pursued the attacker after he fled.
A 28-year-old hospital patient, described the terrorist shooting a man inside a car and continuing to shoot until he stopped moving.
Over the past 15 months, violence in the West Bank has increased, with increased Israeli army incursions, Palestinian street attacks, and settler violence. A shooting occurred on Tuesday after an hour-long gunfight between Israeli troops and Palestinian fighters in Jenin, a stronghold of armed Palestinian factions.
In recent West Bank conflicts, six Palestinians were murdered, over 90 were injured, and seven Israeli soldiers were injured. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu pledged to fight terrorism with all strength, while his nationalist and religious government demanded drastic action.
Finance minister Bezalel Smotrich called for action, while police minister Itamar Ben-Gvir urged Jewish settlers to arm themselves and advocate for full-scale military action.
Hamas claims the attack was a “heroic” response to the Israeli operation in Jenin, carried out by a network of fighters in the West Bank. The group warns that further actions against Israelis could cause a nightmare for their fragile state and soldiers and settlers.
Israeli settlers set fire to a car and burned neighbouring fields as retaliation for the incident, according to local Huwara residents and local authority.
American ambassador Tom Nides expressed concern over the recent Eli attack and the recent civilian casualties and injuries in the West Bank, especially involving children.
The West Bank, Gaza, and East Jerusalem state-building negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians, which were being mediated by the United States, broke down in 2014 and have not recovered.
Israel’s administration is committed to developing settlements in the West Bank and includes lawmakers who oppose the establishment of a Palestinian state. Hamas seeks the destruction of Israel.
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