Israel military kills Palestinian hurling fire bombs at West Bank Settlement

The Israeli military on Thursday confirmed that they shot dead a Palestinian man who was throwing incendiary bombs at cars near a Jewish settlement in the beleaguered West Bank, VOA News reported. In addendum, an Arab man was detained in connection with the incident. While the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) has stopped short of disclosing the details of the incidents, it is believed that the ‘Palestinian cause’ was the main motive behind the hostile attacks. 

West Bank, which also includes the occupied East Jerusalem, houses over one lakh Israeli settlers. Meanwhile, roughly two to three million Palestinians live in the disputed territory under limited self-governance and Israeli rule, according to BBC. Notably, Thursday’s incident occurred in the vicinity of Bethlehem, located a few kilometers south of Jerusalem. 

In an online post, the military said that both the suspects were caught hauling firebombs at a road that leads to an Israeli settlement. It further said that the soldiers acted "in order to thwart the threat,” and immediately opened fire. While the bullets were fired, it immediately wounded one, who later succumbed to his injuries. 

PM Neftali Bennett meets settlement heads

In the most recent development, Israeli PM Neftali Bennett reiterated that he was “committed” to the increasing settlements in the disputed territory of West Bank. Meeting a group of settler leaders, he discussed settlements and strengthening of local authorities. As per Times of Israel, the newly-appointed PM held discussions with leaders from the Yesha Council umbrella organisation, who vowed to cooperate with the Zionist regime. Later, Kan Public Broadcaster reported that while the Zionist leader promised that he would not freeze construction and denied the possibility of annexation. Speaking to Times of Israel later, an official reckoned that settlement construction would continue as planned under the Trump-Netanyahu agreement. “President Biden only spoke generally about his opposition to settlement building, and his team has not gotten into specifics with us,” he said. 

Palestinians have repeatedly highlighted that with a rising number of settlements in the West Bank, which has inched closer to 5,000 by now, it has become increasingly difficult to achieve their dream of independence. Last month, Israel approved the construction of 2,000 new housing units across the West Bank.

(Image: AP)