Israeli settlers shot dead another Palestinian amid West Bank raid

Palestinian health officials reported Omar Ketin, 27, was shot dead on Wednesday in the Palestinian town of Turmusaya, located in the occupied West Bank along the main road connecting the cities of Ramallah and Nablus.

Turmusaya's Mayor Lafi Adeeb told media more than 400 armed Israeli settlers, coming from the neighboring Shilo settlement, which was built on the town's lands, attacked the Palestinian community and set fire to around 30 houses and 60 vehicles, as well as agricultural land.

Adeeb said over 100 Palestinians were wounded in the attack, including 12 people who were shot with live bullets fired by the Zionists.

“This is genocide, this is a war against us. Settlers carrying weapons and canisters full of fuel attack our small village and set fire to houses over the heads of their inhabitants,” Adeeb said.

We helped evacuate people from burning buildings, including children, women and the elderly, dozens of who were choking on the smoke, he said.

“They attacked our town by surprise, sneaking in at noon because they know that the citizens are busy and most of them are outside the town," he said, adding that the attack was "large and organized, with full protection and coordination" with the Israeli military that protects violent settlers.

A Palestinian analyst specializing in Israel issues told the media the attack on Turmusaya was “not settler aggression, but state terrorism”.

“Terrorist settler gangs are an integral part of the occupying state, and their job is to commit acts of genocide and intimidation of the Palestinians so that their state escapes responsibility and legal accountability,” Ameer Makhoul said on Wednesday.

“Terrorist gangs alongside the regular forces are an integral part of Zionist ideology.”

The attack on Turmusaya is the continuation of the ongoing rampage by Israeli settlers injuring scores of Palestinians in the occupied West Bank after the killing of four settlers in a retaliatory attack.

The retaliation took place by Palestinians near the occupied West Bank city of Ramallah, a day after a deadly Israeli raid on Jenin that has claimed the lives of seven Palestinians so far while living dozens injured.

Settler violence against Palestinians and their property has long become routine in the occupied West Bank and is rarely prosecuted by the Israeli regime.

Tensions have been running high across the West Bank over the past year, with the Israeli military conducting near-nightly raids.

At least 170 Palestinians have been killed in the occupied territories since the start of the year by the Israeli occupation forces.