Israeli settlers attack Palestinians, set fires in West Bank after funeral – National
At least 10 Palestinians were injured on Sunday night when Israeli settlers were attacked in the West Bank, who raided nearby areas after holding a funeral for someone who died in a car accident the previous night.
The Palestinian Red Crescent said the injured in Deir al-Hatab included a 45-year-old man shot in the foot and a woman suffering from smoke inhalation. Videos obtained by the Associated Press show cars and homes engulfed in flames as military flares light up the sky near the eastern town of Nablus and near the Israeli settlement of Elon Moreh.
The burning and attacks on four villages in Nablus on Sunday came a day after the Palestinian news agency WAFA reported simultaneous attacks on six communities overnight – the latest incidents of violence in the West Bank.
Sunday night’s chaos came after mourners in the Elon Moreh neighborhood held the funeral of Yehuda Sherman, an 18-year-old Israeli immigrant. Authorities say he was killed in a collision with a Palestinian car in the northern area of the occupied villages.
The police said that they are investigating the allegations of these immigrants deliberately colliding. The Israeli military did not respond to questions about Sunday night’s attack.
The violence comes as the Israeli government pushes ahead with new settlements in the occupied West Bank and attacks on immigrants – including arson, shootings and beatings – have intensified in the face of war with Iran.
Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir, the head of Israel’s army last week condemned such attacks and said it was unacceptable, especially in times of war, for the army to “face a threatening minority from within.”
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WAFA reported on Saturday night’s attacks in the villages of Silat al Dahr and Fandaqumiya, both near Jenin; Jaludi and Salfit, both south of Nablus; and in the agricultural districts of Masafer Yatta and the Jordan Valley. Homes and cars were set on fire, Palestinians pepper-sprayed and at least five people injured in the overnight attacks, which took place during the Eid al-Fitr holiday that marks the end of Ramadan, the organization said.
The Israeli army said the soldiers arrested five Israeli citizens and confiscated weapons while trying to restore peace. It said security forces were attacked by Israeli civilians and a soldier and a number of Palestinians were injured.
The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs reported that 25 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli settlers and soldiers this year since March 15.
Four Palestinians were killed in Gaza
Also on Sunday, four Palestinians were killed in Israeli strikes in the Gaza Strip, hospital officials said.
Another strike hit a car in the Nuseirat refugee camp, killing three police officers, according to Awda Hospital, which received the injured. Ten others were injured. One Palestinian was killed in Gaza City, according to Shifa Hospital.
The deaths were the latest deaths of Palestinians on the beach since an October ceasefire that sought to end the more than two-year war between Israel and Hamas in Gaza.
Although heavy fighting has subsided, the ceasefire still sees almost daily Israeli fire. Israeli forces have carried out repeated airstrikes and frequent shootings of Palestinians near military-held areas, killing more than 670 Palestinians, according to Gaza health officials.
Israel’s military did not immediately comment on Sunday’s strikes but previously said Israel would respond to violations of ceasefire threats against its soldiers.
Associated Press writers Samy Magdy contributed from Cairo and Melanie Lidman contributed in Tel Aviv, Israel.
© 2026 The Canadian Press
