Amid an already worsening security situation, the armed raid by Israeli settlers into the Palestinian village of Huwara on February 26, which caused one death and significant destruction, also brought condemnations from across the political spectrum.
The raid was described by some as a “revenge attack” for the killings earlier in the day of two Israeli brothers, Yagel Ya’acov Yaniv, 19, and Hillel Menachem Yaniv, 21, as they drove past the village. The alleged gunman in that attack, 49-year-old Abdel Fattah Hussein Kharousha, was killed along with five other Palestinians during an Israeli raid in Jenin on March 7.
Residents of the region were shaken by the release of vivid security camera footage of an attack during the Huwara rampage that injured five members of a single Palestinian family including a 2-year-old girl.
Around the same time, a Palestinian man was shot and killed by a group of Israeli settlers in the nearby village of Zatara. According to the victim’s nephew, Fadi al-Aqtash, around 60 settlers entered the village and opened fire on Sameh al-Aqtash, 37, hitting him in the abdomen.
The family attempted to transport Sameh al-Aqtash to a hospital, but their efforts were hindered by Israeli military roadblocks, and he died before he could receive medical attention.
The settlers attacked us, four or five were around the car; they were shooting at us with live ammunition and hitting the car with rocks and axes, breaking the windows, and spraying pepper gas
Omar Khalifa was in a car with his elderly parents, wife, and young daughter outside a supermarket when he says was surrounded by several settlers attacking his car.
“The settlers attacked us, four or five were around the car; they were shooting at us with live ammunition and hitting the car with rocks and axes, breaking the windows, and spraying pepper gas. God saved us. My wife was sitting in the back with my daughter and mother, my 69-year-old father sitting in the front was hit and taken to the hospital,” Khalifa told The Media Line.
What is happening in Huwara is systematic and deliberate terrorism by the settlers, with the support and protection of the far-right occupation government and army
Huwara’s mayor, Moein al-Dmaidi, says these attacks have become more aggressive and more brazen, a charge echoed by Israeli voices about Palestinian violence.
“What is happening in Huwara is systematic and deliberate terrorism by the settlers, with the support and protection of the far-right occupation government and army,” Dmaidi told The Media Line.
Israeli settler attacks have been on the rise, amid accusations that Israeli soldiers provided protection and support to the settlers during the raid in Huwara, an allegation denied by the Israel Defense Forces.
We hid in the kitchen. We were in great awe and fear. My wife and daughters were crying. It was a hard feeling, I thought we were going to die, inevitably.
In another incident during the rampage by Israeli settlers on February 26, Huwara resident Ziyad al-Damidi says his house was attacked and set on fire. Damidi and his family were barricaded in one room thinking it was the safest room in the house, as fire was raging outside and hundreds of settlers were trying to force their way in; that’s when Damidi and his family moved to the kitchen for safety.
“We hid in the kitchen. We were in great awe and fear. My wife and daughters were crying. It was a hard feeling, I thought we were going to die, inevitably,” Damidi told The Media Line.
Maj. Gen. Ghasan Alyan, head of the IDF’s Unit for Coordination of Government Activities in the Territories, visited Damidi in his home after the attack; Alyan told Damidi he came to find out what happened to him.
“We saw the pictures and videos and we are doing our best to bring calm to Huwara; that’s why I instructed my soldiers to make sure that there’s no damage,” said Alyan.
Palestinians say these visits don’t bring much comfort to them, and they don’t stop settler attacks. And of the eight Israeli settlers arrested after attacks on Palestinians in Huwara, only two remain under house arrest. Daily skirmishes are still happening as Huwara becomes a flashpoint in the increasing tension between Palestinians and Israeli settlers, with many fearing the situation is headed for more violence.
The United Nations on Wednesday urged Israel and the Palestinians to “immediately” end the violence.
“We are in the midst of a cycle of violence that must be stopped immediately,” UN Middle East peace envoy Tor Wennesland said in a statement.
“The Security Council has spoken with one voice, calling on the parties to observe calm and restraint, and to refrain from provocative actions, incitement, and inflammatory rhetoric,” he also said.
Many are concerned that violence may increase particularly around Jerusalem’s religious sites during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, which begins in late March, and the Jewish holiday of Passover in April.
Since the start of the year, the conflict has claimed the lives of 74 Palestinian adults and children, including fighters and civilians.
Thirteen Israeli adults and children, including members of the security forces and civilians, and one Ukrainian civilian, have been killed over the same period.