Israeli settlers enter Palestinian village and shoot one dead

Israel settlers entered a Palestinian village on Saturday, fatally shooting a man in the back. They entered the village of Al Mughayer in the West Bank, near the city of Ramallah, where Palestinian residents tried to stop them. The intruders came from the illegal settlement of Adei Ad where a confrontation ensued. The Palestinian Health Ministry said the killed Palestinian was Hamdi Nassan, 38. At least six Palestinians were shot. Amin Abu Alya, head of Al Mughayer village council, said settlers opened fire before the Israeli army moved in. "At the beginning it was settlers shooting, then the army came and fired teargas," he told AFP. Mr Abu Alya said the settlers shot Nassan. Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and other senior Palestinian officials condemned the killing. “The Israeli Government is continuing its policy of escalation,” Mr Abbas said. "This will lead to serious consequences, further tension and a dangerous and uncontrollable atmosphere." Palestine Liberation Organisation Secretary General Saeb Erekat wrote on Twitter: “We hold the Israeli government fully responsible for this new crime. Settler terrorists continue to attack Palestinian civilians under the protection of the Israeli army.” Gazan groups Hamas and Islamic Jihad called for revenge for Nassan’s killing. A day earlier, Israeli soldiers shot and killed a Palestinian youth, who they claimed was throwing rocks at cars driven by Israeli settlers in the West Bank. Residents of the dead youth's village of Silwad, north-east of Ramallah, said he was Ayman Hamed, 17. Relatives and villagers mourned his death at a funeral in the village on Saturday. There has been a sharp rise in violence in the occupied West Bank in recent months. Israel maintains a network of illegal outposts across the territory, protecting a population of more than 400,000 settlers who live close to more than 2.5 million Palestinians. In East Jerusalem, there are about 150,000 more settlers. The Palestinians seek both territories as part of any future sovereign state, with East Jerusalem its capital. But Israel’s settlement network will prevent any unbroken Palestinian state. Tension has risen after US President Donald Trump relocated the American embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, and recognised the city as Israel’s capital. He also cut all funding to the UN agency for Palestinian refugees and removed funding from East Jerusalem hospitals that serve sick Palestinians. Last week, Israel charged a setter teenager with killing Palestinian mother Aisha Rabi, 47, after he threw a large rock at her vehicle. Several Palestinian attacks in recent months have taken place around illegal Israeli settlements. The international community considers Israel’s settlements to be illegal and destructive to attempts to find a solution to the decades-long conflict. The consensus remains for a two-state solution, with a Palestinian state living side by side with an Israeli state.

Israeli settlers enter Palestinian village and shoot one dead

The incident took place near the West Bank city of Ramallah