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Photos:
A Palestinian man runs near a burning object, after an attack by Israeli settlers, near Ramallah, in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, June 21, 2023. Credit: MOHAMAD TOROKMAN/ REUTERS Published by Haaretz

27-year-old Palestinian Omar Ketin who was shot and killed during the settler rampage in Turmus Aya on Wednesday. Published by Haaretz, June 21, 2023

Omar Hisham Abdullah Jabara, 27. Published by IMEMC News, June 22, 2023

See also video at IMEMC News Source Link
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A 27-year-old man was shot and killed near the West Bank town of Turmus Aya, hours after Jewish settlers, some of them armed, set fire to houses and cars in the area

by Hagar Shezaf, Jack Khoury, and Ben Samuels for Haaretz
Jun 21, 2023 2:36 pm IDT
Updated: Jun 21, 2023 6:04 pm IDT

Dozens of Jewish settlers, some armed, set fire to houses and vehicles in the Palestinian West Bank town of Turmus Aya on Wednesday, Israeli security sources said.

On Wednesday afternoon, after the rampage in Turmus Aya, clashes broke out between security forces and local Palestinians. The Palestinian Health Ministry announced that one person, 27-year-old Omar Ketin, had been shot dead.

A senior police source told Haaretz that Ketin was likely shot by a police officer, saying that during the clashes, an officer saw one person shooting at police with an improvised firearm, and opened fire at the Palestinian holding the gun, hitting him. The report of Ketin's death came afterward, the source said.

An official statement from the police stated that dozens of Palestinians rioted after police and firefighters arrived in the village, and began attacking them. During the ensuing riot, which involved Palestinians hurling stones and launching fireworks at police and firefighters, "Someone fired at them, causing an explosion that endangered their lives," the statement said. "In response, the officers, who felt that their lives were under palpable threat, accurately fired at the rioter suspected of firing at them," hitting him. It added that the incident is under investigation.

According to the Palestinian Health Ministry, a total of 15 people were injured across the West Bank, twelve of which are from Turmus Aya, including one in serious condition. One of the injured, from Kafr Malik, suffered a serious head injury. Two of the injured are from Beit Ummar.

A resident of Turmus Aya said that around 250 armed settlers arrived and began attacking homes with women and children inside and setting fires. Some tried to enter the homes, but villagers protected them and evacuated residents.

Defense officials estimate that about 15 homes were damaged by arson and stone throwing, and about 30 cars were torched. Residents said that the Israeli military has done nothing to stop the violence, and only arrived in the village after the settlers had left. No arrests have been made in connection with the riot.

The Israel Defense Forces released a statement on Wednesday afternoon condemning the rampage. "Israeli civilians set fire to Palestinian property a short while ago in the village of Turmus Aya," it added. "Security forces entered the village in order to put out the blazes, to avoid brawls and to collect evidence." It said that the police opened an investigation.

The IDF added that "events such as these prevent the army from focusing on their main mission - the defense of Israeli citizens and preventing terror."

The Anti-Defamation League said in a statement on Wednesday that "We strongly condemn the violent rampage by extremist Israeli settlers targeting Palestinian villages in the West Bank. There's no excuse for violence. Israeli security forces must go after all those involved and do more to protect Palestinian individuals and property."

The rampage comes the day after four Israelis were shot and killed in a terror attack near the settlement of Eli. Dozens of settlers descended on the West Bank village of Orif later Wednesday evening, and three Israelis were reported injured due to stone throwing. Orif is the village the assailants from Tuesday's attack are from.

A resident of Turmus Aya said that over 200 settlers arrived there after they had attended the funeral of one of the men killed in Tuesday's attack.

According to that resident, "They were armed – they attacked homes that had women and children in them... They tried to enter homes." He added that the rioters shot at residents trying to put out the fires that were set. According to him, many people were wounded and some suffered from smoke inhalation due to the fires.

Vedant Patel, the deputy spokesperson for the U.S. State Department reiterated on Wednesday that the Biden administration condemns Tuesday's terror attack, and that "there are troubling reports of extremist settler violence against Palestinian civilians, including the death of a Palestinian child and other injuries."

"Accountability and justice should be pursued with equal rigor in all cases of extremist violence," he continued, noting that the U.S. expects Israel to ensure "full accountability and legal prosecution" for those responsible in addition to compensation for damaged property.

"There are days when you have to state the obvious – the State of Israel is a state of rule of law," said Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in a statement. "Israeli civilians, as a whole, must respect the law. We will not accept riots, neither in the Golan Heights, nor in Judea and Samaria," he said.

"I give my full support to the Israel Police and the security forces working to establish law and order. We will not accept any affront to the police or the security forces in these places or anywhere else."

Following Tuesday's deadly shooting attack, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Defense Minster Yoav Gallant and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich agreed to fast-track the construction of 1,000 housing units in Eli.

Hours after Tuesday's attack, groups of settlers went to several Palestinian cities and villages and began to block traffic, throw stones and vandalize property. In Luban al-Sharqiya, a village close to the scene of the shooting, settlers torched dozens of cars and defaced businesses and homes. Residents also reported hearing gunfire.

The mayor estimated that about 30 cars, 10 homes and several other sites were damaged. He said that the riots continued until about 3 A.M., and only stopped when residents went out to stop them.

According to an Israeli defense official, roughly 20 settlers set cars on fire in the Palestinian village of Hawara — the site of a rampage carried out by settlers earlier this year. IDF soldiers were brought to the area, and there are reports of settlers attacking them, forcing the soldiers to fire warning shots in the air.

In the Tapuach Junction, 40 settlers threw rocks at Palestinian cars, while a group of roughly 15 settlers blocked the entrance to Nablus. An Israeli truck driver also reported that he was attacked while passing through Hawara.

The Israel Police released a statement saying that three Jews were arrested on Tuesday on suspicion of involvement in the West Bank riots, one of whom was already released from custody.

Also Tuesday, dozens of Israeli settlers, including Religious Zionism lawmaker Zvi Sukkot, entered the West Bank outpost of Evyatar, which is considered a closed military zone by the Israeli military.

The Israeli army did not prevent the settlers from entering, nor did the settlers request official authorization to enter the hilltop outpost, meaning that their presence violated Israeli law.
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via Twitter

Jack khoury.جاك خوري from Haaretz
@KhJacki
תיעוד מהכפר תורמוס עייא.בישוב מדווחים כי מתנחלים פוגעים ומציתים בתים ורכוש ללא שום בלימה מצד הצבא.

Documentation from the village of Turmus Ayya. In the settlement, it is reported that settlers are damaging and setting fire to houses and property without any restraint on the part of the army.
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Palestinian Killed By Israeli Fire As Colonizers Burn Homes And Cars, Near Ramallah


by IMEMC News
July 22, 2023

On Wednesday evening, the Palestinian Health Ministry confirmed the death of a young Palestinian man whom Israeli colonizers killed after they invaded Turmus Ayya town, northeast of the central West Bank city of Ramallah, and burnt dozens of homes and cars.

The Health Ministry said Omar Hisham Abdullah Jabara, 27, suffered a fatal gunshot wound to the chest after dozens of paramilitary colonizers invaded the town.

Lafi Adeeb, the Mayor of Turmus Ayya, said more than 400 colonizers invaded the town and opened fire at dozens of homes and residents who intercepted the attack, wounding twelve with live fire.

He added that the colonizers burnt 30 Palestinian homes and more than 60 cars and said the Israeli assailants came from nearby illegal colonies and colonialist outposts on stolen Palestinian lands.

The Palestinian Red Crescent Society (PRCS) said the paramilitary colonizers stopped its ambulances and prevented them from entering the town.

Palestine TV correspondent Osaid Sbeih said that after the massive invasion and assaults in Turmus Ayya, the colonizers headed to nearby Sinjil town, north of Ramallah, and fired dozens of live rounds at the Palestinians and their homes at the entrance of the town and closed many surrounding streets.

He added that Israeli soldiers shot and seriously injured a young man in Kafr Malek town, northeast of Ramallah, before he was rushed to Palestine Medical Complex and then to the Istishari Medical Center in Ramallah, where he was admitted to surgery before being moved to the Intensive Care Unit.

Israeli sources claimed the army exchanged fire with Palestinian fighters in Turmus Ayya; however, the reports ignored the fact that the Palestinians, unarmed civilians, were defending their homes and property after the paramilitary colonizers invaded their community.

The attack is reminiscent of the assault on Huwwara, Burin, and Arisa Al-Qibliya near Nablus on February 26, when the colonizers carried out more than 300 assaults in which they burnt dozens of homes, cars, and large agricultural lands.

In related news, at least 200 Israeli colonizers from Yitzhar illegal colony invaded the Orif Palestinian town south of the northern West Bank city of Nablus and hurled flammable materials at a school before the locals intercepted them.

The Palestinians hurled stones at the invading colonizers, wounding eight, while the Israeli assailants also injured several Palestinians, especially to the head and upper body, before Israeli soldiers invaded Orif and fired live rounds at the Palestinians.

In Jericho, Israeli soldiers attacked Palestinian cars at the city’s main entrance in the northeastern West Bank and abducted a young man.

On Wednesday night, an Israeli military drone fired a missile at a car in Jenin, in the northern part of the occupied West Bank, killing three Palestinians, including a teenage boy.

Medical sources said the slain Palestinians were identified as Soheib Adnan Al-Ghoul, 27, Mohammad Bashar Oweis, 28, and Ashraf Morad Sa’adi, 17.

On Wednesday evening, the Palestinian Health Ministry confirmed the death of Omar Hisham Abdullah Jabara, 27, whom Israeli colonizers killed after they invaded Turmus Ayya town, northeast of the central West Bank city of Ramallah, and burnt dozens of homes and cars.

The Health Ministry said Omar suffered a fatal gunshot wound to the chest after dozens of paramilitary colonizers invaded the town.

On Wednesday dawn, a Palestinian child who suffered serious wounds after Israeli soldiers shot her during the military offensive in Jenin Monday succumbed to her injuries.

Medical sources at the Jenin governmental hospital said the soldiers shot the child, Sadeel Ghassan Turkman, 15, from the Jenin refugee camp, with a live round to the head and remained in critical condition until she succumbed to her wounds.

On Tuesday evening, the Palestinian Health Ministry confirmed the death of Nasser Saleh Mohammad Sinan, 55, whom Israeli soldiers shot in the head a month earlier in Jenin.

On Tuesday dawn, the Palestinian Health Ministry confirmed the death of Amjad Aref Al-Ja’as, 48, who was shot and seriously injured by Israeli army fire Monday during the massive Israeli invasion of Jenin, during which the soldiers killed five Palestinians, and injured more than a 100, some seriously.

On Monday evening, Israeli soldiers killed a young Palestinian man and injured two after the army invaded Husan village, west of Bethlehem, in the occupied West Bank.

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