After two Israelis were shot and killed in Huwara in the northern occupied West Bank, Israeli settlers carried out punitive raids. A Palestinian was killed and hundreds more injured. In the city, calm has returned, but the scars of this explosion of violence are still clearly visible.
On a dusty parking lot, dozens of charred carcasses are piled up, some of the vehicles burned last night. On Sunday, February 26, two Israelis were shot and killed in Huwara in the northern occupied West Bank. In the evening, Israeli settlers, in revenge, carried out punitive expeditions.
Youssef, a transporter, saw his truck and his three cars burn. Eyes red with fatigue and sadness, he draws nervously on his cigarette and contemplates the damage. “They came from the settlement of Itsar. They burned that house there. Look further, they also burned that other house, there is still smoke. What a disaster, they burned everything to ashes, there are millions of losses.”
“They did all this with the protection of the Israeli army.”
Youssef, transporter in the occupied West Bankat franceinfo
One Palestinian killed, hundreds injured
Sunday evening, the Israeli army, which occupies the majority of the West Bank, hardly moved. The army sheltered Palestinian civilians, but remained passive in the face of unleashed settler violence. Armed with stones or firearms, the latter attacked property and people. One Palestinian was killed and around 100 others injured in Huwara and surrounding towns.
Ata is upset. “The settlers were armed. They fired live ammunition. There was tear gas. My children did not sleep a wink all night. They are terrified. My youngest son has not left my arms , he is terrified. Terrified! We watched helplessly as our property was destroyed. If you dare to intervene, they will kill you.”
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Ali Abderamane, an experienced Palestinian Red Crescent first aider, also still finds it hard to believe. “Tonight was war in full force. We couldn’t even move to rescue people. The Israeli army and the settlers blocked our way. The city was suffocating in tear gas and smoke from the fires. Tonight was war, war!”
“I’ve been a rescuer since 1999 and I’ve never seen anything like it. Tonight was war, war!”
Ali Abderamane, a Palestinian Red Crescent first aiderat franceinfo
Since these punitive expeditions by Israeli settlers, the Israeli army has been patrolling the city to protect the settlers who circulate freely in the area, even if it means preventing the Palestinians from coming and going. For them, these restrictions will last at least three days.