In a harrowing incident that has drawn international condemnation, dozens of Israeli settlers, some masked and armed with rocks and Molotov cocktails, attacked the Palestinian village of Jit near Nablus in the occupied West Bank late Thursday evening. The assault resulted in widespread destruction, with homes and vehicles set ablaze.
Tragically, the Palestinian health ministry confirmed that a local villager in his early 20s was killed during the attack, and another person was critically injured with a chest wound. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) stated that they are investigating the report of the fatality and confirmed that one Israeli national has been detained in connection with the incident.
Footage circulating on social media shows plumes of smoke rising from the village, underscoring the intensity of the violence. Israeli political leaders, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and President Isaac Herzog, have condemned the attack, vowing to bring those responsible to justice. Netanyahu’s office emphasized that “those responsible for any criminal act will be caught and prosecuted,” while Herzog decried the actions of “an extreme minority” that tarnishes Israel’s reputation during a particularly sensitive period.
The IDF reported that their forces were deployed to the scene within minutes of receiving reports of the violence and that they fired warning shots to disperse the crowd before removing the attackers from Jit. A joint investigation has been launched by the IDF, Israel’s security agency Shin Bet, and the Israeli police.
The attack comes amid increasing scrutiny of settler violence in the West Bank. According to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), there have been over 1,000 settler attacks against Palestinians since October, resulting in more than 1,390 people, including 660 children, being displaced. The violence has frequently been lethal, with OCHA documenting 107 incidents that led to Palestinian fatalities and injuries.
The ongoing Israel-Hamas war in the Gaza Strip has dominated global headlines, but the escalating settler violence in the West Bank has prompted the United States, European Union, and United Kingdom to impose sanctions on certain settler leaders and, for the first time, entire settler outposts. A White House National Security Council spokesperson stated that the attacks by settlers are “unacceptable and must stop,” urging Israeli authorities to take decisive measures to protect all communities and hold perpetrators accountable.