Israeli settlers attacked Palestinian villages in the West Bank on Sunday night, injuring at least 10 people, as violence by settlers continued alongside fighting in Gaza, where Israeli strikes killed four Palestinians, hospital officials said. The incidents, reported across several Nablus-area communities, followed a day of unrest that Palestinian officials tied to a recent spate of overnight attacks.
The Palestinian Red Crescent Society said the wounded included a 45-year-old man shot in the foot and a woman who was suffering from smoke inhalation. Videos obtained by The Associated Press showed cars and homes set ablaze as army flares illuminated the sky near a village east of Nablus and next to the Israeli settlement of Elon Moreh.
The AP reported that the rampage in four Nablus-area villages came after mourners in Elon Moreh held a funeral for Yehuda Sherman, an 18-year-old Israeli settler. Authorities said he was killed in a collision with a Palestinian vehicle in an area north of the villages attacked, and police said they were investigating settlers’ claims that the collision was deliberate.
The violence unfolded as Israel’s government pressed ahead with new settlements in the occupied West Bank and as, according to the AP, settler attacks—including arsons, shootings and beatings—intensified amid shifting attention to the Iran war. Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir, the head of Israel’s military, condemned such attacks last week and said it was especially unacceptable during wartime for the military “to confront a threatening minority from within.”
Palestinian news agency WAFA reported that on Saturday night there were simultaneous attacks in at least six communities, including Silat al Dahr and Fandaqumiya near Jenin, Jalud and Salfit south of Nablus, and agricultural regions including Masafer Yatta and the Jordan Valley. WAFA said the overnight assaults set homes and cars on fire, involved pepper-spraying, and left at least five people wounded, taking place during Eid al-Fitr.
Israel’s military said late Sunday security forces detained five Israeli civilians and confiscated some weapons as they attempted to restore order. The military said security forces came under attack from Israeli civilians and a soldier and that Palestinian civilians were also injured in the clashes, and it did not respond to questions from the AP about the Sunday night attacks.
The violence in the West Bank continued alongside an escalation in Gaza. Hospital officials said Sunday’s Israeli strikes killed four Palestinians, with one strike hitting a vehicle in central Nuseirat refugee camp and killing three police officers, according to Awda Hospital, which reported 10 other people wounded. Shifa Hospital said another Palestinian was killed in Gaza City, and the deaths added to the reported toll since an October ceasefire deal aimed at halting a more than two-year war between Israel and Hamas.
While the heaviest fighting has subsided under the ceasefire attempt, Israeli fire has still been frequent, the AP reported, with repeated airstrikes and attacks near military-held zones. The AP said Gaza health officials attributed more than 670 Palestinian deaths to Israeli strikes since the ceasefire, and noted the Israeli military had previously said it would respond to violations of the ceasefire that threaten its soldiers.