Israeli settlement guard killed in operation near Qalqilya, northern West Bank

An Israeli security officer was seriously injured on Sunday after being attacked with a sharp object by a Palestinian in the settlement of "Kedumim" near the city of Qalqilya in the northern West Bank, before he was announced dead hours later from his wounds.

Hebrew media reported that a Palestinian attacked the settlement security guard with a sharp object (a hammer) and seriously injured him in the head, then seized his weapon. After being pursued by the occupation forces, he withdrew and fortified himself in a factory inside the settlement.

Channel 13 reported that the injured guard received treatment from the ambulance and a medical force from the Israeli army at the site, and then he was transferred to Beilinson Hospital, noting that the occupation army asked the residents of the settlement to enter their homes and close the doors and windows.

The channel quoted a paramedic as saying: "I found a wounded man, 40 years old, suffering from bruises and serious head injuries. I provided him with first aid at the factory."

The moment an occupation security guard was transferred after being hit in the head with a hammer inside the settlement of "Kedumim" near the village of Jit, east of Qalqilya. pic.twitter.com/XiIImxjBAx

— Al-Qastal News (@AlQastalps) August 18, 2024

Later, Hebrew media reported that the perpetrator of the operation was able to withdraw from the settlement using a vehicle, and that the occupation forces were pursuing him, during which several military checkpoints were set up in the area.

The settlement is located near the village of Jit, which was subjected two days ago to a terrorist attack by more than 120 settlers, during which a Palestinian was shot dead, homes and vehicles were burned, and property was destroyed.

The attack sparked a wave of international condemnation, calling on the Israeli occupation to curb the expanding settler violence in the West Bank.

Earlier today, the Israeli Broadcasting Authority reported that security officials warned that there was a sharp increase in settler attacks in the West Bank, in the number of participants and in the public manner in which the violence is taking place, in contrast to a decline in the number of arrests carried out by the police.

The Authority quoted security sources as saying that there is a feeling among extremist settlers that anything is permissible in the West Bank. According to the Hebrew Authority, the settlers' leadership is based in illegal settlement outposts that are not evacuated, and attacks often target Palestinian villages nearby on a daily basis.

(New Arab)