Washington has condemned as terrorism the killing of a Palestinian by suspected Jewish settlers, in sharpened language that appeared to reflect U.S. frustration with surging violence in the occupied West Bank under Israel's hard-right government.
Israeli police detained two settlers in Friday's incident near Burqa village. According to Palestinians, they were part of a group that threw rocks, torched cars and, when confronted by villagers, shot a 19-year-old dead and wounded several others.
Initial findings by Israel's military cast the incident as a confrontation that escalated, with casualties on both sides. A defence lawyer said the settlers - one of whom was absent from a court hearing due to a head injury - acted in self-defence.
In their arraignment, a transcript of which was obtained by Haaretz newspaper, the state accused the settlers of "deliberate or depraved-indifference homicide" with a racist motivation.
"We strongly condemn yesterday's terror attack by Israeli extremist settlers that killed a 19-year old Palestinian," the U.S. State Department said in a statement late on Saturday, urging "full accountability and justice".
Amid increased attacks on their communities by Palestinians armed with guns, rocks or firebombs, settlers have repeatedly rampaged in West Bank villages, causing extensive property damage. Among their victims have been Palestinians with U.S. dual citizenship.
The State Department statement on Burqa was issued back-to-back with a statement condemning as terrorism a Palestinian gun attack that killed a security officer in Tel Aviv.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's religious-nationalist government has bristled at any comparisons between Israeli and Palestinian militancy.
Far-right minister for police Itamar Ben-Gvir said on social media that Palestinian stone-throwers at Burqa "tried to murder Jews" and that he expected them to be fully investigated.
The West Bank is among areas where Palestinians seek statehood. U.S.-mediated negotiations with Israel to that end stalled almost a decade ago, boosting hardliners on both sides.
According to Israel's Army Radio, the rate of attacks by settlers or their supporters against Palestinians in the West Bank has more than doubled this year compared to 2022.
"We are faced with the evolution of a dangerous Jewish nationalist terrorism," opposition lawmaker Benny Gantz, a former defence minister, said on messaging platform X, formerly known as Twitter.
"Whatever happened at Burqa, it joins a slew of events that beset our security forces with having to pursue, rather than protect, Israelis."
Two Israelis arrested after Palestinian man killed in West Bank
Mourners carry the body of 19-year-old Palestinian Qusai Jamal Maatan, during his funeral in the village of Burqa in the north of the occupied West Bank on August 5, 2023.
Two Israelis have been arrested for questioning and five others detained following the reported killing of a Palestinian man in the West Bank, Israel Police said in a statement Saturday.
It is rare for Israeli settlers to be arrested for attacks on Palestinians in the occupied West Bank. They are almost never prosecuted, even if arrested.
A Palestinian man was shot and killed by Israeli settlers in the village of Burqa, near Ramallah in the occupied West Bank, the Palestinian Ministry of Health said late Friday.
It is the first accusation from the Ministry that settlers have killed a Palestinian villager since February, and the second this year, although both Palestinian officials and international observers regularly document violence by settlers against Palestinians.
The ministry said Qusai Jamal Maatan, 19, was fatally shot in the neck by Israeli settlers during an attack on his village. Two others were injured, according to the ministry.
Maatan was buried Saturday morning.
The IDF said in a statement that they arrived after reports of “violent clashes between Israeli civilians and Palestinians,” and that “it was reported that during the clashes, Israeli civilians shot toward the Palestinians and as a result, there was a Palestinian casualty.”
The IDF also said Israeli civilians were reportedly injured by rocks hurled at them.
There was no immediate comment from the Shomron (Samaria) Council, which represents settlers in the northern West Bank and would not normally issue a statement on Shabbat.
A legal aid group that defends settlers said Saturday that the settler who shot the Palestinian was acting in self-defense after Palestinian villagers began harassing an Israeli shepherd.
Honenu, the legal group, said the incident began when Palestinians from Burqa threatened the shepherd from Oz Zion – a settler outpost – which is illegal not only under international law but under Israeli law.
The shepherd called other settlers “to prevent deterioration,” Honenu said, after which dozens of Palestinians attacked them with clubs, fireworks and rocks.
One of the settlers was hit in the head with a rock “at point blank range and was seriously injured,” according to Honenu, and he managed to defend himself with a licensed gun he was carrying.
He is currently in intensive care following an operation at Shaare Zedek hospital in Jerusalem, and under arrest, Honenu said.
The second Israeli settler who was arrested helped transport him to the hospital, Honenu said.
Honenu attorney Nati Rom said: “My client acted according to the law, and as is required of any licensed firearm holder – to protect his life and the lives of other civilians.”
A statement released by the Israeli military said both Israelis and Palestinians threw stones in the West Bank confrontation. The army has imposed a closed military zone on the area while investigations by Israel Police and the Shin Bet security agency (ISA) are ongoing.
The US State Department qualified the incident as a “terror attack”.
In a statement released on Twitter, now known as X, it said: “We strongly condemn yesterday’s terror attack by Israeli extremist settlers that killed a 19-year old Palestinian.”
“The US extends our deepest sympathies to his family and loved ones. We note Israeli officials have made several arrests and we urge full accountability and justice.”
The Palestinian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates strongly condemned attacks by what they referred to as “organized and armed terrorist settler militias” against unarmed Palestinian citizens in Burqa.
The ministry expressed concern over the lack of real punishment for attacks by settlers on Palestinian villagers, saying the incidents have emboldened settlers to commit further crimes. The ministry accused Israeli government ministers and their followers of incitement.
The coalition government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu includes two parties primarily supported by settlers, Israelis who live in the West Bank in order to cement the country’s hold on the Palestinian territory. Settlements are considered illegal under international law. Israeli asserts the West Bank is “disputed,” not “occupied,” and denies that the settlements are illegal.
The United Nations warned last month of a dramatic rise in West Bank settler attacks on Palestinian people and property, with nearly 600 such incidents registered during the first half of the year.
The UN humanitarian agency OCHA said it had recorded 591 settler-related incidents in the territory in the first six months of 2023, resulting in Palestinian casualties, property damage, or both.
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