Dozens of Israeli settlers protested Sunday night in the West Bank city of Huwara, allegedly setting fire to Palestinian property, hours after two Israeli brothers were shot dead there in a terrorist attack.
Palestinian media reports released footage of burning houses and cars, claiming they were set alight by settlers protesting the killings of Hillel and Yagel Yaniv in the city near Nablus earlier in the day.
The Palestinian Red Crescent said its medics treated 98 people injured in the clashes with settlers and three ambulances were attacked.
The Palestinian Health Ministry said 20 had been treated in hospitals for tear gas and smoke inhalation. One was seriously injured after being hit in the head with a rock and another man was slightly injured after being hit with a metal bar.
According to the demonstrators, border police tried to disperse the crowd with tear gas. The protesters said they were urging Israeli security forces to deal with “terror hot spots” in the area.
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Magen David Adom emergency services said its medics were treating two 16-year-olds suffering from tear gas inhalation at nearby Yitzhar Junction.
الفلسطينيين في حوارة جنوب نا. pic.twitter.com/jxbxeAlfi6
— شبكة قدس الإخبارية (@qudsn) February 26, 2023
There were no immediate reports of arrests.
Early Sunday, shortly after the deadly shootout, at least three houses in the city were set on fire by settlers and one Palestinian was stabbed, according to rights group Yesh Din.
???? متابعة صفا| الاعلام العبري: حوارة بنابلس الليلة تبدو وكأنها ساحة حرب pic.twitter.com/UBTKjkDL4b
— وكالة صفا (@SafaPs) February 26, 2023
The police increased their alert level and the military should step up forces to apprehend the gunman who carried out the attack on a highway through Huwara.
#صورة… مستوطنون من مناز في حو ا ا ا ومن ومنومن مكبر مكبرات الصو DOH pic.twitter.com/zukz32ey6a
— إذاعة الأقصى – عاجل (@Alaqsavoice_Brk) February 26, 2023
Esti Yaniv, the mother of Hallel and Yagel Yaniv, who were killed in the terrorist shooting, said nothing would fill the hole in her heart.
“We received a tremendous slap in the face from God,” Esti Yaniv said in a call with the youth of Har Bracha settlement, where the victims lived.
Esti and her husband Shalom Yaniv are the youth coordinators in the settlement.
“We’re trying to find the good things, the kindness, that we had a family Sabbath together, good conversations with the kids,” she said.
“We have a huge hole in our hearts,” Yaniv continued. “Nothing will close this hole, will it [settlement] Construction, no protest – nothing.”
The victims’ corneas were to be donated for transplantation, as both brothers had Adi donor cards.
Her funeral is expected to take place on Monday.
Brothers Hallel (left) and Yagel Yaniv, who were killed in a terrorist attack in the West Bank city of Huwara on February 26, 2023. (With kind approval)
The Israel Defense Forces said the Palestinian gunman fired at point-blank range at the Yanivs’ car on Route 60 and then apparently fled the scene on foot.
Graphic footage of the attack showed the victims’ car riddled with bullets. Troops at the scene found 12 nine-millimeter grenade casings, which charged the attacker used a handgun or makeshift submachine gun.
An initial investigation into the shooting suggested the gunman took advantage of a freeway traffic jam to carry out the attack.
Defense Minister Yoav Gallant ordered the IDF to step up operations in the West Bank to locate the gunman.
“Gallant directed the security forces to focus their operational and intelligence efforts on apprehending the terrorists while taking all necessary measures, including offensive measures, to prevent further attacks,” his office said in a statement after receiving an assessment senior defense officials had carried out.
Gallant also authorized the army to reinforce forces in the West Bank “with the aim of expanding defensive operations in the settlements and on the roads,” his office added.
Israeli police chief Kobi Shabtai said security forces were working tirelessly to apprehend the terrorist. “I trust the Shin Bet and IDF intelligence who will know how to reach the terrorist,” Shabtai said in a statement.
“We are in a very sensitive situation and it requires all of us to be on operational alert,” he said, adding that “the Israel Police Force is being placed on maximum alert to be at the highest level of operational readiness.” “
Israeli security forces secure the scene of a shooting attack in Huwara in the West Bank near Nablus on February 26, 2023. (Nasser Ishtayeh/Flash90)
Huwara has long been a flashpoint, being about the only Palestinian city through which Israelis regularly travel to reach settlements in the northern West Bank.
There were several shootings against Israeli motorists on Route 60 in Huwara. There are plans to build a bypass road for settlers to avoid having to drive through the Palestinian city, but construction has stalled.
In recent months, Palestinian gunmen have repeatedly attacked military posts, troops operating along the security barrier in the West Bank, Israeli settlements and civilians on the streets.
Tensions between Israel and the Palestinians ran high over the past year, with the IDF conducting near-night raids in the West Bank amid a series of deadly Palestinian terrorist attacks.
A series of Palestinian terrorist attacks in Jerusalem in recent weeks has killed 11 people and seriously injured several others.
Over 60 Palestinians have been killed since the beginning of the year, most of them in attacks or clashes with security forces, but some were innocent civilians and others may have been killed in circumstances under investigation.
In response to the recent terrorist attacks, there has also been a significant increase in settler attacks on Palestinians. Israeli settlers set fire to a number of Palestinian cars in the village of Burin near Nablus on Saturday.
Incidents of vandalism against Palestinians and Israeli security forces are commonly referred to as “price tag” attacks, with far-right perpetrators claiming they are retaliation for Palestinian violence or government policies viewed as hostile to the settler movement.
Arrests of perpetrators are rare and human rights groups complain that convictions are even more unusual, with most charges being dropped in such cases.
Sunday’s attack came as Israeli and Palestinian officials held a meeting in Jordan to restore calm in the West Bank and Gaza Strip amid deadly violence.