Israeli settlers smash cars and set fires in the West Bank as 4
Palestinians killed in Gaza
[March 23, 2026]
By SAM METZ
RAMALLAH, West Bank (AP) — At least 10 Palestinians were injured Sunday
night in attacks in the occupied West Bank by Israeli settlers, who
rampaged through nearby villages after holding a funeral for a settler
killed in a car crash a night earlier.
The Palestinian Red Crescent Society said the wounded 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 set ablaze as army flares lit up the sky near the village east of
Nablus and next to the Israeli settlement of Elon Moreh.
The arson and assaults in four Nablus-area villages on Sunday came a day
after the official Palestinian news agency WAFA reported simultaneous
attacks in at least six communities overnight — the latest spates of
violence in the occupied West Bank.
Sunday night's rampage came after mourners in the settlement of Elon
Moreh held a funeral for Yehuda Sherman, an 18-year-old Israeli settler.
Authorities said he was killed in a collision with a Palestinian vehicle
in an area north of the villages attacked. Police said they were
investigating the settlers’ claims that the collision was deliberate.
Israel's military did not respond to questions about Sunday night's
attacks.
The violence came as Israel’s government presses ahead with new
settlements in the occupied West Bank and attacks by settlers —
including arsons, shootings and beatings — have intensified as attention
shifts to the Iran war.
Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir, the head of Israel's military last week condemned
such attacks and said it was especially unacceptable during wartime for
the military “to confront a threatening minority from within.”
WAFA reported Saturday night's attacks in the villages of Silat al Dahr
and Fandaqumiya, both near Jenin; in Jalud and Salfit, both south of
Nablus; and in the agricultural regions Masafer Yatta and the Jordan
Valley. Homes and cars were set ablaze, Palestinians were pepper-sprayed
and at least five people were wounded in the overnight assaults, which
took place during the Eid al-Fitr holiday marking the end of Ramadan,
the agency said.
Israel’s military said that late Sunday security forces detained five
Israeli civilians and confiscated some weapons as they attempted to
restore order. It said security forces came under attack from Israeli
civilians and a soldier as well as a number of Palestinian civilians
were injured.
[to top of second column]
|
Mourners carry the body of Ahmed Hamdan Tabasha, a Palestinian
policeman killed in an Israeli military strike, during his funeral
at Al-Awda Hospital in Nuseirat, southern Gaza Strip, Sunday, March
22, 2026. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)
The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian
Affairs reported 25 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli
settlers and soldiers this year as of March 15.
Four Palestinians killed in Gaza
Also on Sunday, four Palestinians were killed in Israeli strikes in
the Gaza Strip, hospital authorities said.
One strike hit a vehicle in the central Nuseirat refugee camp and
killed three police officers, according to the Awda Hospital, which
received the casualties. Ten others were wounded, it said. Another
Palestinian was killed in Gaza City, according to Shifa Hospital.
The deaths were the latest fatalities among Palestinians in the
coastal enclave since an October ceasefire deal attempted to halt a
more than 2-year war between Israel and Hamas in Gaza.
While the heaviest fighting has subsided, the ceasefire has still
seen almost daily Israeli fire. Israeli forces have carried out
repeated airstrikes and frequently fire on Palestinians near
military-held zones, killing more than 670 Palestinians, according
to Gaza health officials.
The Israeli military did not immediately comment on Sunday’s strikes
but has previously said Israel will respond to violations of the
ceasefire threats to its soldiers.
___
Associated Press writers Samy Magdy contributed from Cairo and
Melanie Lidman contributed from Tel Aviv, Israel.
All contents © copyright 2026 Associated Press. All rights reserved
 |
