Hundreds of armed Israeli settlers stormed a village in the occupied West Bank on Friday, setting fire to several homes and cars in one of the largest attacks by settlers this year, according to Palestinian officials.
At least one Palestinian was killed when Israeli settlers opened fire in the village of Al-Mughayyir, east of Ramallah, according to the head of the village council, Amin Abu-Alia. He said he identified the slain Palestinian as his 26-year-old relative named Jihad Abu-Alia, who was due to get married this summer.
At least 25 other people were wounded in the attack, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry in Ramallah, the magnitude of which had not been seen since hundreds of settlers stormed the villages of Turmusayya and Huwara in two separate incidents last year.
Between 1,000 and 1,200 settlers surrounded the village, and around 500 broke in just after noon local time on Friday, blocking all roads in the area, Abu-Alia told CNN.
He added that Israeli security forces informed Palestinian officials that settlers were searching for a 14-year-old Israeli boy who had gone missing earlier that day.
They attacked the village, raiding houses and shooting at residents, Abu-Alia said. Videos obtained by CNN show parts of the village in flames, with smoke rising over several buildings and settlers throwing rocks. Houses and cars are seen completely burned, with sounds of gunshots and clashes in the background.
According to Abu-Alia, the Israeli army arrived at the location around 3 p.m. and did not stop the settlers from attacking the village. Israeli soldiers allowed them to raid homes, prevented Palestinian residents from moving and blocked ambulance access to the wounded, he added.
Abu-Alia told CNN that settlers stole approximately 70 sheep from the Palestinian village.
In response to a question from CNN, the IDF said “violent riots were instigated in multiple locations in the area” following the search for the boy.
