Accidental Israeli shooting kills settler during attacks on W. Bank villages

WEST BANK  (Palestine Foundation Information Center) During settler violence on Monday night, one extremist settler was shot dead and another one was seriously injured in an accidental Israeli police shooting in the occupied West Bank.

An Israeli security source told the Hebrew media that a border police officer opened fire at two masked settlers who attacked him with pepper spray, fearing they were Palestinians.

The incident took place during settler rampage, where buildings and vehicles were set ablaze in the villages of Jinsafut and al-Funduq in eastern Qalqilya. The Israeli occupation forces reportedly stormed the area to protect the settlers during their attacks.

Local sources affirmed that Israeli soldiers opened fire at local villagers as they tried to defend their property and fend off the settlers.

According to media sources, three buildings, a tractor, and a car were set on fire by the settlers in the village.

Meanwhile, local officials said that the settlers also torched three homes as well as a bulldozer, a crane, a nursery, and a carpenter shop, and carried out a stone-throwing attack on a house in an attempt to harm the family living inside it.

During the attack, one citizen sustained a minor head injury while trying to protect his home from the settler attack. Several other residents suffered from their exposure to tear gas fired by Israeli soldiers, according to WAFA news agency.

Concurrently, Israeli forces closed the road barrier at the eastern entrance of Qalqilya, resulting in severe traffic congestion.

In separate incidents, a horde of extremist Jewish settlers, under military protection, rallied on Monday night at the entrance of Burqa village and in the Tall Asur area, east of Ramallah.

According to local sources, a group of settlers escorted by Israeli forces gathered at the entrance of Burqa village and scattered nails on the road, aiming to puncture tires of Palestinian vehicles.

According to the sources, another group of settlers guarded by soldiers gathered in Tall Asur area near Kafr Malik village, which obstructed the movement of citizens in the area.

Earlier in the evening, several settlers escorted by soldiers gathered near at-Taybeh village, northeast of Ramallah, causing disruption to traffic in the area.

In southern al-Khalil, settlers stormed on Monday night a Palestinian home in the Masafer Yatta area, and attacked Palestinian vehicles near Dura City.

Local sources said that settlers broke into the house of a Palestinian resident in Masafer Yatta, and walked around it before leaving. No one was reportedly hurt in the settler attack.

In a related incident, dozens of settlers damaged multiple Palestinian vehicles during stone-throwing attacks at the eastern entrance of Dura City and al-Fawwar refugee camp in southern al-Khalil.

On Sunday evening, extremist settlers torched and damaged several Palestinian vehicles, closed roads and blocked key intersections in different areas of the West Bank.