Netanyahu vows 'forceful action' after Israeli settler killed in West Bank shooting

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has pledged "forceful action" against the Palestinian village of Tell and its surrounding areas following a deadly shooting incident that claimed the lives of four Palestinians and one Israeli settler. The prime minister met with his cabinet, including Defense Minister Israel Katz, and directed the Israeli military to escalate measures against villages identified as "hotbeds of terrorism."

These intensified policies are expected to include operations for weapon confiscation and the revocation of work permits for Palestinians employed in Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank. Such measures have been in place since the Hamas attacks of October 7 and during the ongoing conflict, which a UN independent expert panel has characterized as "genocide" by Israel in Gaza.

The incident occurred in Tell, located in the Nablus governorate of the occupied West Bank, near the illegal Israeli settlement outpost of Havat Gilad. Israeli military reports state that several Palestinians stole a weapon from a "security guard" who responded to a report of an attack on hikers. The military claims the Palestinians then fired on Israeli civilians before being killed.

However, Palestinian authorities offer a contrasting narrative. They assert that Israeli settlers initiated the violence by attacking Palestinian homes in Tell and opening fire before the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) arrived. According to this account, one of the Palestinians killed disarmed the "security guard" – a settler authorized to carry a weapon for settlement protection – after witnessing the killing of two relatives by the army.

In the aftermath of the shooting, groups of radical Jewish settlers have reportedly been assaulting Palestinian villages, vandalizing property, and setting fires. The Israeli military has deployed forces for an "anti-terrorist operation" but has not reported any arrests related to the settlers' actions. Palestinian activists report that ambulances are struggling to access the area to treat injured Palestinians. The Palestinian Red Crescent reported eight injuries from settler attacks on the village of Farata, near Qalqilya, including six sustained from live ammunition.