Dozens of Israeli settlers have attacked a Palestinian village in the occupied West Bank, killing at least one person.
More than 70 armed settlers— some of them wearing masks— invaded the town of Jit on Thursday (Aug. 15), throwing stones and Molotov cocktails as they set vehicles and buildings on fire, BBC and CNN reported.
One local villager in his early 20s was killed in the attack after sustaining a chest injury, according to the Palestinian Authority's health ministry.
Videos of the attacks have circulated on social media, showing the damage caused by the arson.
גורמי ביטחון: עשרות רעולי פנים יהודים הציתו מבנים וכלי רכב פלסטינים בכפר ג'ית בשומרון. עד כה, דווח על ארבעה בתים ושישה כלי רכב שניזוקו בהצתות. כוחות צבא ומג"ב הגיעו למקום כדי לפזר את המתפרעים. אין עצורים@carmeldangor pic.twitter.com/RzYopm1Gby
— כאן חדשות (@kann_news) August 15, 2024
Mass attack in the village of Jit in the occupied West Bank, More than 100 Israeli settlers burned houses and properties of Palestinians under the protection of the occupation forces so far one dead and dozens injured.#GenocideByIsrael pic.twitter.com/jgTv02oA7C
— Embassy of the State of Palestine in Cyprus (@PalestineEmbCy) August 15, 2024
Dozens of masked Israeli terrorists entered the Palestinian village of Jit and set fire to houses and vehicles.
They burned 22-year-old Palestinian alive in his car.
— Dr.Sam Youssef Ph.D.,M.Sc.,DPT. (@drhossamsamy65) August 15, 2024
Attack condemned
The attack on the village of Jit in the West Bank has drawn criticism from Israeli officials.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu condemned the attack in a Facebook post and said that those responsible for the attack would be "apprehended and brought to justice".
Israeli President Isaac Herzog also condemned the attack on X (formerly Twitter), describing the perpetrators as "an extreme minority that harms the law-abiding community of settlers and the settlement as a whole and in the name and status of Israel in the world during a particularly sensitive and difficult period".
Herzog also called for those responsible to be brought to justice.
Forces deployed within minutes
The IDF said that they deployed forces to the village within minutes of receiving reports of the attack.
The army said that shots were fired in the air to disperse the crowd. The Israeli attackers were then removed from Jit.
The IDF has launched an investigation into the incident.
More than 1,000 attacks by settlers since October
Since October, there have been more than 1,000 documented attacks by settlers against Palestinians, according to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).
At least 1,390 people, including 660 children, were displaced as a result.
Read more
Top image via @PalestineEmbCy/X and @Megatron_ron/X.