U.S. says Israeli settler attacks in West Bank are 'unacceptable and must stop'

The U.S. said Thursday that attacks carried out by "violent" Israeli settlers on Palestinian civilians in the occupied West Bank "are unacceptable and must stop" after one person was killed during a mob attack on a small Palestinian village.

"Attacks by violent settlers against Palestinian civilians in the West Bank are unacceptable and must stop," a State Department spokesperson told Anadolu while adding that the U.S. also welcomes reports that the Israeli army arrested one Israeli suspected of taking part in the attack.

"We encourage Israeli authorities to take measures to protect all communities from harm, this includes intervening and stopping such violence. We urge Israel and the Palestinian Authority to do everything possible to de-escalate tensions and hold all perpetrators of such violence to account," the spokesperson added.

On Thursday evening, Israeli settlers killed a Palestinian citizen, seriously injured another and set fire to four homes and six vehicles owned by Palestinians during an incursion into the village of Jit in the West Bank, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry and Israeli Army Radio.

According to eyewitnesses, illegal Israeli settlers stormed the town of Jit, situated along the main road between Nablus and Qalqilya, opening fire on residents, pelting stones at homes, and setting fire to at least one house and several vehicles.

The witnesses also said Israeli forces provided protection to the settlers and prevented Palestinian civil defense vehicles from entering the town.

Citing an Israeli security source, Israeli Army Radio reported that more than 100 settlers stormed the town.

The source said the settlers set fire to four homes and six vehicles owned by Palestinians while hurling stones and Molotov cocktails at residents and their property.

"The incident ended without any arrests, while several Palestinians suffered from inhalation of tear gas" fired by Israeli soldiers, it added.

Over the past few years, the Israeli military has conducted regular raids in the West Bank, which escalated with the beginning of the war on Gaza on Oct. 7, 2023.

At least 632 Palestinians have since been killed and nearly 5,400 others injured by Israeli army fire in the occupied territory, according to the Health Ministry.

In a landmark advisory opinion on July 19, the International Court of Justice declared Israel's decades-long occupation of Palestinian land "illegal" and demanded the evacuation of all existing settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem.