Clashes Of Palestinians With Israeli Residents In The West Bank Again Swallowed Casualties

Illustration of Israeli soldiers checking Palestinians. (Wikimedia Commons/Yaron Ben-haim)

JAKARTA - Clashes between Palestinians and Israeli settlers in Huwara City, the occupied West Bank claimed another death, Palestinian News Agency Wafa said Friday.

Witnesses said it was unclear whether the 19-year-old victim was killed by a mob of settlers or soldiers stationed in the area.

The Israeli military said dozens of settlers and city residents threw stones at each other. However, a Palestinian threw bricks at the army and they responded with gunfire.

"A shot was identified," the Israeli military said, meaning someone was hit by a soldier's shot.

Meanwhile, an Israeli military representative said soldiers were unaware of any settlers who fired weapons during the confrontation.

The violence has risen sharply in Huwara this year, a small town between Ramallah and Nablus in the north of the West Bank, with settler attacks increasing after a deadly attack on two Israeli settlers in February.

Pemukim kemudian meramban di kota tersebut, yang mengakibatkan mobil dan puluhan rumah terbakar dan seorang warga Palestina ditidak.

Meanwhile, Israeli soldiers were heavily criticized for not intervening in these attacks, but later called them "pogroms" or hate-motivated religious unrest.

Later, the Minister of Finance at PM Benjamin Netanyahu's Administration, Bezalel Smotrich sparked outrage, when he said Huwara should be "dismantled."

On Thursday, a Palestinian gunman suspect opened fire on an Israeli vehicle in Huwara carrying three family members. Israeli security forces tracked down and later killed the man. While the family was not injured.

The attack came hours after two Palestinian gunmen and five Israeli soldiers were injured in separate clashes.