On Sunday evening, Israeli “settlers” descended on villages near Nablus. One Palestinian was killed and around 100 injured, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry.
Correspondent in Jerusalem
The tension went up a notch again on Sunday evening in the West Bank when bands of “settlersdescended on the villages surrounding the Har Brakha settlement, not far from Nablus, in the north of this territory occupied by Israel since 1967. A little earlier in the day, two brothers, inhabitants of this Israeli settlement, had been killed during an attack. attack in Huwara. According to witnesses on the spot, the assailant, who shot them as they drove through this village located south of Nablus, was wearing a T-shirt stamped with the acronym of the “Den of the Lions“, a movement very present in the region.
As night fell, dozens of young peoplesettlersentered the village, setting houses on fire. It took several hours before the Israeli army managed to regain control of the situation. She evacuated dozens of Palestinian families whose homes were engulfed in flames. Qualified as “pogromby Progressive Journal Ha’aretz, this descent resulted in the death of a Palestinian, shot dead in the village of Zatara, a few kilometers further south, according to the Palestinian Ministry of Health. There would be about a hundred injured.
Death penalty for terrorists
Late at night, Israeli checkpoints around Nablus were reportedly attacked. In Gaza, where groups ofprotestershad gone to the borders, the clashes would have injured two people. In the evening, controls were reinforced at the checkpoints around Nablus and the army announced the deployment of two additional battalions in the administrative region of “Judea and Samaria», the occupied West Bank.
This violence exploded after a day during which Israel blew hot and cold on the hotbed that is currently the Palestinian territories. Earlier, in a meeting held in the West Bank with the Palestinian Authority, Israel announced a four-month settlement freeze. But, in the process, a bill imposing the death penalty for terrorists was approved by the Council of Ministers.
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Last week was marked by violence in the Nablus region. On Wednesday, an operation by the Israeli army perpetrated in broad daylight in the old city of Nablus had resulted in a heavy toll: 11 dead and a hundred injured. The Israelis were looking for two members of the “Den of the Lions» and one of «Islamic Jihad“. This was followed by rocket fire from Gaza and an Israeli bombardment of Hamas military sites. According to an AFP count, 62 Palestinians have died since the beginning of the year as a result of the conflict.
France calls for de-escalation
In a short video released Sunday evening, Benyamin Netanyahu tried to calm things down. “I even ask you if the blood is still hot and the spirits heated not to do justice yourself but to let the security forces accomplish their mission“, he launches. For its part, the office of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas issued a statement accusing Israel ofprotect terrorist acts perpetrated by settlers“.
The French Embassy in Israel condemned the violence. In a press release issued Monday morning, she said that “France is following with the greatest concern the ongoing violence in the West Bank, in particular in Huwara, which threatens to escalate beyond its control» and that she «calls on all parties to avoid fueling this violence and contribute to de-escalation“. A statement that she concludes by reminding the government of Israel “its responsibility as an occupying powerto Palestinian civilians.
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