An Israeli and four Palestinians were killed in violence in the northern occupied West Bank on Friday, with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu promising to act “firmly” after an “attack”.
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The Israeli military said soldiers were deployed after reports of an attack on Israeli civilians hiking near the Israeli settlement of Havat Gilad.
According to her, the attackers seized the weapon of a member of the security forces who arrived on site, before opening fire on the hikers.
Israeli Magen David Adom emergency services said a man in his thirties was pronounced dead near the settlement.
Two people injured by bullets, aged around 20, were evacuated by helicopter, one in serious condition, according to the same source.
An AFP journalist noted that roadblocks had been set up on site and the army said they had fired in the direction of the attackers who were fleeing.
The Palestinian Ministry of Health indicated that four Palestinians had been killed in the neighboring village of Tel and that four others had been injured, three of them seriously.
According to a statement from his office, Mr. Netanyahu said his government would act “firmly against terrorists and their sponsors.”
He specified that he would hold a meeting with security officials to “discuss the modalities of the response to the deadly attack”.
Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich called on the army to act “with an iron fist” against “the village of the murderers and its surroundings”, without providing further details.
Violence in the West Bank, a Palestinian territory occupied by Israel since 1967, has sharply intensified since the start of the war in Gaza in October 2023.
