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Palestinian Man Killed in West Bank Clashes
Confirmed
In Short: A Palestinian man was killed and nine others injured during clashes with Israeli settlers and military forces.
A Palestinian man was killed and nine others injured during clashes with Israeli settlers and military forces in the West Bank village of Burqa on Wednesday, according to the Palestinian health ministry.
The Palestinian health ministry identified the deceased as 44-year-old Ali al-Bazzari, a member of the Palestinian National Security Forces.
The Israeli military stated that troops and border police were dispatched after reports of rock-throwing towards an Israeli civilian, who was injured.
During the ensuing confrontation, Israeli security personnel and civilians opened fire, leading to the death of al-Bazzari and injuries to others.
The Palestinian Red Crescent reported treating three people wounded by live fire and five others who were assaulted and beaten.
The incident occurred as Palestinians were harvesting olives on farmland near Burqa, west of Nablus.
Al Jazeera’s Nida Ibrahim reported that the violence has escalated during the olive harvest season, with at least 45,000 olive trees destroyed across the occupied West Bank this year.
The mayor of Qusra said that settlers set fire to a mosque under construction, further inflaming tensions.
According to the Palestinian health ministry, Israeli forces or settlers have killed 1,115 Palestinians in the territory since the start of the Gaza war.
Violence has surged in the West Bank in the three years since, with 1,114 Palestinians killed by the IDF and 41 Israelis killed in Palestinian attacks or during Israeli military operations.
The UN has documented attacks by Israeli settlers on Palestinian villages, including vandalism, theft, and hate graffiti.
The latest clashes come two days after a confrontation near the village of Tal left four Palestinians and two Israelis dead.
What this adds
The incident highlights the ongoing tensions and violence in the West Bank during the olive harvest season.
The attacks on Palestinians harvesting olives and the destruction of olive trees have transformed what is traditionally a joyous season into a dangerous one.
The BBC reported that Israeli settlers have set fire to two mosques, cars, and agricultural land in the West Bank, exacerbating the situation.
Background
Over 100 Israeli settlers attacked the Palestinian village of Jalud in the West Bank early Tuesday, injuring three Israeli security officers and damaging a security vehicle.
The West Bank is the larger of the two Palestinian territories that make up Palestine. A landlocked territory located on the western bank of the Jordan River near the coast of the Mediterranean Sea in West Asia's Levant region, it is bordered by Jordan and the Dead Sea to the east, and by Israel to the south, west, and north.
What's confirmed
- A Palestinian man was killed and nine people were injured during an Israeli settler attack followed by army intervention in an occupied West Bank village on Wednesday, according to the mayor and the Palestinian health ministry.
- The Palestinian health ministry said 44-year-old Ali al-Bazzari died and nine others were injured "as a result of an assault by occupation forces and settlers" on the village of Burqa, north of Nablus in the northern West Bank.
- The Israeli military said troops and border police forces had been dispatched to the area after reports of "rock hurling toward an Israeli civilian, who was injured".
- During an ensuing confrontation between dozens of Palestinians and Israeli settlers, "a security personnel member and an additional Israeli civilian opened fire" at the scene, the military said.
- "A commander operating in the area identified a terrorist running toward him while carrying a suspicious object and neutralised him," it added.
- Al-Bazzari was a member of the Palestinian National Security Forces, according to an obituary that it published on Wednesday.
- "Clashes broke out between young men from the village and settlers before the (Israeli) occupation forces intervened and opened live fire at the Palestinians, killing the young man Al-Bazzari and injuring others," Salah told AFP.
- The Palestinian Red Crescent said in separate statements that its teams treated three people wounded by live fire, one of them seriously, and five people injured after being assaulted and beaten in Burqa, and transported the injured to hospitals.
- According to an AFP tally based on data from the Palestinian health ministry, Israeli forces or settlers have killed 1,115 Palestinians in the territory since the start of the Gaza war.
- Violence has surged in the West Bank, which Israel has occupied since 1967, in the three years since.
What's still developing
- “If you just go to pick your olives now … you could not return from the journey. It could be dangerous, not only because of Israeli restrictions against farmers going to their lands, but also because of the armed Israeli settlers who continue to assault Palestinians,” Ibrahim said.
- She said the attacks have transformed what is traditionally an important social and economic season for Palestinian families.
- “In October, usually Palestinians take days off from their jobs and go to the land, try and pick their olives because this is supposed to be a joyous season,” she added.
- The organization added that Israeli forces “assaulted and beat ambulance crews” and detained staff as they tried to reach the wounded in the area.
- Israel's prime minister said he would speed up the establishment and legalisation of farm outposts in the West Bank, in response to the killing of Israelis in Tal on Friday.
- Abdul Azim Wadi said that settlers spray painted graffiti that included the word "revenge" on the walls of the mosque.