JERUSALEM: Israeli settlers on Saturday shot dead a Palestinian man and wounded his brother in an attack on a village in the occupied West Bank, the Ramallah-based health ministry and a local mayor said.
“Amir Mohammad Shnaran (27) was killed after being shot by settlers in the Wadi al-Rakhim area,” the health ministry said.
Mohammad Rabai, head of the nearby Tuwani village council, told AFP that settlers had entered homes in the area and attacked the family.
Shnaran’s brother Khaled was also shot in the abdomen during the incident, he said.
Israel’s military said soldiers and police were dispatched to the scene after reports of a “violent confrontation” between Israelis and Palestinians.
“According to an initial review of the incident, an IDF reserve soldier who arrived at the scene after receiving the report of an attack opened fire,” the military said.
It said it was “aware of reports” that two Palestinians were wounded by the gunfire, one of whom died.
It said an investigation was underway.
Violence in the West Bank, which Israel has occupied since 1967, has soared since the Hamas attack on Israel triggered the Gaza war in October 2023. It has continued despite the ceasefire.
Israeli troops or settlers have killed at least 1,040 Palestinians, many of them militants, but also scores of civilians, in the West Bank since the start of the Gaza war, according to an AFP tally based on Palestinian health ministry figures.
At least 45 Israelis, including both soldiers and civilians, have been killed in Palestinian attacks or during Israeli military operations, according to official Israeli figures.
