Jerusalem CNN —
The Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) regard the previous day’s attacks by Israeli settlers on Palestinians in the West Bank as “acts of terrorism,” an IDF official said Monday, as tensions in the region simmered after a weekend of violence.
At least one Palestinian was killed, a Palestinian fire truck was stoned by a crowd of about 50 settlers and other Palestinians were injured with stones or metal bars, Palestinian medical officials said Sunday, blaming Israeli settlers in the West Bank.
The violence continued into Monday, when a 27-year-old man, whose name has not yet been released publicly, was pronounced dead, according to a statement from Hadassah Mt. Scopus Hospital.
He was shot dead on Monday in the West Bank on a highway between Jericho and the Dead Sea, according to the Israeli emergency service Magen David Adom (MDA).
The West Bank victim “was unconscious outside of his car with gunshot wounds to his upper body” when MDA paramedic Eden Cohen arrived to treat him, Cohen said in a statement released by the service.
The attacks followed the fatal shooting of two Israeli brothers earlier on Sunday iAt least 11 Palestinians died in the city of Huwara, south of Nablus in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, just days after a massive Israeli military attack on Nablus in search of wanted militants.
“Last night there was revenge from people living in the area. I wanted to say that we see these actions as acts of terrorism, these violent riots,” the IDF official said, asking not to be named due to the sensitivity of the situation. “It was a terrible night,” the official added.
The official said the reason the IDF sent three additional battalions to the area was to differentiate the Palestinians and Israelis.
“More forces will de-escalate the situation,” the official said. “This morning, in addition to two Border Patrol companies, we sent another Givati reconnaissance battalion — the Givati Special Forces Battalion — into the area, basically to try to de-escalate the two sides and keep them apart.”
Israel’s Defense Minister Yoav Gallant vowed to arrest the person or persons the settlers killed and called for calm while allowing military and security forces to work and arrest the perpetrators.
“It is neither legitimate nor possible to operate individually,” Gallant said Monday while visiting the site where the incident took place. “We cannot allow citizens to take the law into their own hands. I urge everyone to abide by law and order and trust the IDF and security forces across the country.”
The IDF has arrested eight people in connection with the Huwara attacks, some of whom have since been released, Israel Police Spokesman Dean Elsdunne told CNN on Monday.
Sameh Hamdallah Mahmoud Aqtash, 37, was shot in the abdomen and killed in the town of Za’tara between Huwara and the Israeli settlement of Kfar Tapuach, the Palestinian Health Ministry said on Sunday evening. In Huwara itself, at least one person was stabbed and another was attacked with an iron bar, the Palestinian Red Crescent said.
The Israeli settlers killed earlier were brothers Hillel Menachem Yaniv, 21, and Yagel Yaakov Yaniv, 19, according to the local settlers council.
Video from the scene showed their car had crossed a median and hit a vehicle going the other way, suggesting they were shot while driving.
Late Sunday, the IDF announced that older brother Hillel was a serving soldier and issued a statement expressing condolences.
After rare talks on Sunday brokered by Jordan, Egypt and the United States, Israeli and Palestinian officials reiterated “their commitment to all previous agreements between them and to a just and lasting peace.”
Israel and the Palestinian Authority reiterated their “common readiness and commitment to work immediately to end unilateral measures for a period of 3 to 6 months.” This includes an Israeli commitment to halt discussion of new settlement units for 4 months and outpost approval for 6 months,” the joint statement read.
Responding to the announcement of a freeze on settlement building, the far-right Religious Zionism party leader, Bezalel Smotrich, firmly rejected a pause “even for a day”.
In a post on Twitter, Israel’s Finance Minister appeared at odds with his government, writing: “There will be no moratorium on settlement construction or development, not even for a day (this is under my authority). The IDF will continue to take full action against terrorism in all areas of Judea and Samaria (we will reaffirm this in Cabinet). It’s very easy.”
Also on Sunday, the Israeli cabinet approved a proposed law imposing the death penalty on “terrorists”. It is officially a private member’s bill sponsored by far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir, and not a government-backed bill.
The law would give courts the power to “impose the death penalty on those who have committed the crime of murder on nationalist grounds against the citizens of Israel,” according to a statement by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Ben Gvir.
After a preliminary vote in the Knesset or Parliament, Israel’s Political Security Cabinet will next consider the text of the bill before it goes to the committee stage. When it passes the committee stage, it takes three readings of the Knesset to become law.
According to the Israel Democracy Institute, there were previous attempts to introduce the death penalty in 2016 and 2018, but they did not become law.
In response to the moves, the Palestinian government “strongly condemned” the Israeli cabinet’s approval, according to a statement by the Palestinian Foreign Ministry on Monday.
“The death penalty violates the fundamental rights of the Palestinian people to life, non-discrimination and self-determination. It is a cruel, barbaric and inhumane law, rooted in Jewish supremacy and aimed precisely at denying the Palestinian people their right to exist and their humanity,” it said, calling on the international community to “take concrete action to stop it.” To pressure Israel to withdraw its bill.”