A Palestinian youth was shot dead and 25 others were injured Friday evening, April 12, after they were attacked by armed settlers in the town of Al-Mughayyir, northeast of Ramallah, at the occupied West Bank. The deceased man was later identified by his family as 26-year-old Jehad Abu Alia. “My son went with others to defend our land and honor, and this is what happened,” his father Afif Abu Alia said WAFA from a hospital in the city of Ramallah, where his son’s corpse had been transported.
Palestine Red Crescent ambulance teams have dealt with 25 injuries, due to settlers’ attack on the village of al-Mughayyir near Ramallah (Photo: PRCS)
Hundreds of settlers rampaged in al-Mughayyir, shooting and setting houses and cars on fire and sparking clashes between Palestinians and soldiers that killed a Palestinian man and wounded 25 others. A settler, Benjamin Achimeir, left an illegal farm near the Malachei Shalom settlement in the early morning hours to go shepherding near the Palestinian town and has not been seen since. The sheep returned to “Gal Farm” without him, according to police.
The Palestinian Red Crescent Society (PRCS) said that its crews dealt with 18 injury cases, one of them critical and Deputy Chairman of the village council, Marzouq Abu Naim, said that at least 1,500 settlers, protected by the occupation army, killing and burning of residents’ homes and proprieties throughout the village. The settlers also set on fire around 40 Palestinian-owned homes and vehicles.
According Hadash MK Ofer Cassif, “Once again pogroms by terrorist gangs of settlers under the auspices of the Israeli occupation forces. This is not a mistake – this is the murderous policy of the messianic government! The world must stop this madness and put an end to this fascist terrorism.” Hadash MK Aida Touma-Sliman added, “With army backup, settlers never miss an opportunity to ignite the area. It is crucial not to let this slide and not to become accustomed to settler violence in any scenario, not even during a search mission for a missing person. The international community must recognize that settlers frequently act with impunity, rarely facing consequences for their actions. Will those involved in today’s rioting and severe violence be arrested? Will anyone be held responsible for the death of a Palestinian civilian? And, most importantly, will the global community continue to turn a blind eye to such atrocities? This must end.”
Earlier on Friday four Palestinians were injured in an attack by settlers on the village of Abu Falah, northeast of Ramallah. The settlers further set several Palestinian-owned vehicles and homes on fire during the raid. Also, in the evening they attacked Palestinian-owned vehicles with stones on the Al-Ma’rajat Road, northwest of Jericho, and raided agricultural land in the village of Fasayel to the north. The general supervisor of the Al-Baidar organization for defending the rights of the Arab-Bedouins, Hassan Mleihat, said that dozens of colonists also raided the Mleihat community northwest of Jericho, broke into several civilians’ homes and searched about 17 homes.
According UN reports, since 7 October and as of 8 April, 432 Palestinians, including 109 children, have been killed by Israeli forces, nine by settlers and three by either Israeli forces or settlers, across the occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem. In addition, four Palestinians from the West Bank or East Jerusalem have been killed while perpetrating attacks in Israel.
Related: https://maki.org.il/en/?p=31679
