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Violence erupted in the occupied West Bank on Saturday as settlers set fire to cars and buildings in Palestinian villages after the killing of an Israeli teenager in what the Israeli army called a “terrorist attack”.
Binyamin Achimair, 14, went missing on Friday after taking sheep to graze at the Malachei HaShalom colony outpost. His disappearance sparked a widespread search as well as an attack by settlers in the Palestinian village of al-Mughayyir, where buildings and vehicles were set on fire.
Achimair’s body was found on Saturday and settlers again attacked al-Mughayyir. Palestinian officials said one man was killed and 25 were injured in Friday’s violence. The Palestinian Wafa news agency said six people in the village were wounded by gunfire on Saturday.
The Israeli NGO Yesh Din, which tracks settler violence, said settler attacks had taken place in at least 10 Palestinian villages.
Tensions have risen in the West Bank – which Palestinians seek as the heart of a future state but which Israel has occupied since 1967 – since war broke out between Israel and Hamas last year.
In the aftermath of the Hamas attack on Israel on October 7, there was a wave of settler violence in the territory. The UN has recorded 727 settler attacks against Palestinians since the war broke out.
In response to the violence, several Western countries, including the United States, the United Kingdom and France, have imposed financial sanctions and travel restrictions on settlers involved in some of the most extreme violence.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called Achimair’s killing a “serious crime” and vowed that Israeli forces will capture those behind it, while also issuing a veiled warning against vigilante attacks.
“I call on all Israeli citizens to allow the security forces to carry out their work unhindered, so that we can soon deal with the abominable killers and their assistants,” he said.
Yoav Gallant, Israeli Defense Minister, also called for calm. “I appeal to the public, let the law enforcement agencies act quickly in the hunt for terrorists,” he wrote on the social media platform
“Acts of revenge will make the mission of our soldiers difficult. The law must not be taken into one’s own hands.”
The Israeli military said clashes occurred between settlers and Palestinians in “several” locations on Saturday and that “dozens” of Israelis and Palestinians were injured “at different levels.”
It added that it would send additional forces to the area, but said on Saturday evening that “all incidents have now concluded”.