RAMALLAH, Palestinian Territories — An
Israeli settler stabbed a Palestinian to death in the occupied West Bank on
Tuesday, the Palestinian ministry of health said.
اضافة اعلان
Ali Harb, 27, was “stabbed directly in the heart by
a settler”, the ministry said in a statement, AFP reported.
Harb’s cousin, Firas Naim, told AFP that Israeli
occupation forces were present when Harb was killed.
Naim said that he and his family members, including
Harb, went to their village, Iskaka, after hearing that settlers were setting
up tents there.
Once there, Naim said, they were confronted by
Israeli forces and armed settlers, who fired shots in the air.
“After they shot in the air, the settlers attacked.
... We were just standing there, and a settler came and stabbed him with a
knife here (on the side of the body) for no reason,” said Naim, whose clothes
were covered in blood.
Naim added that Israeli occupation forces prevented
the
Palestinians from approaching Harb after he was attacked.
Despite eyewitnesses identifying Israeli forces
present at the location, an Israeli statement claimed that they “arrived at the
scene, where a seriously wounded Palestinian was taken to hospital, having been
apparently stabbed”.
The statement said an investigation was underway and
that “the identity of the assailant is still unclear”. No arrests were
immediately made, according to Al Jazeera.
Israel occupied the
West Bank and
East Jerusalem in
1967.
Since then, nearly half a million Israelis have
moved into settlements that most of the international community regard as
illegal. Nearly three million Palestinians live in the West Bank under Israeli
military rule.
Settlers are widely accused of committing violence
against Palestinians.
Israeli authorities, including security forces and
the justice system, have been criticized for turning a blind eye to settler
violence against Palestinians.
Al Jazeera, citing Israeli human rights group Yesh
Din, said that 91 percent of Israeli investigations into attacks by Israelis on
Palestinians between 2005 and 2019 were closed without indictments.
The Israeli rights group B’Tselem has documented
more than 600 violent incidents by Israeli settlers against Palestinians since
the year 2020, including nearly 200 physical assaults.
On Sunday,
Israeli forces shot dead a Palestinian
worker while he was crossing a security barrier in the West Bank.
The deaths come amid a
spike in Israeli violence against Palestinians.
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