Jerusalem: Scores of Israeli settlers went on a violent rampage in the northern West Bank late on Sunday, setting dozens of cars and homes on fire after two settlers were killed by a Palestinian gunman.
Palestinian medics said one man was killed and four others were badly wounded in what appeared to be the worst outburst of settler violence in decades.
The deadly shooting, followed by the late-night rampage, immediately raised doubts about Jordan’s declaration that Israeli and Palestinian officials had pledged to calm a year-long wave of violence.
Palestinian media said some 30 homes and cars were torched. Photos and video on social media showed large fires burning throughout the town of Hawara — scene of the deadly shooting earlier in the day — and lighting up the sky.
In one video, crowds of Jewish settlers could be heard reciting the Jewish prayer for the dead as they stared at a building in flames. And earlier, a prominent Israeli cabinet minister and settler leader had called for Israel to strike “without mercy”.
Late on Sunday, the Palestinian Health Ministry said a 37-year-old man was shot and killed by Israeli fire. The Palestinian Red Crescent medical service said two other people were shot and wounded, a third person was stabbed and a fourth was beaten with an iron bar. Some 95 others were being treated for tear gas inhalation.
Read the article by Josef Federman in The Sydney Morning Herald.