An Israeli settler shot dead a Palestinian on Wednesday in the occupied West Bank, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry.
The Israeli military said dozens of Palestinians hurled rocks toward an off-duty soldier and another person carrying out “engineering works” near the village of Duma, lightly wounding them. According to the mayor of Duma, Suleiman Dawabsheh, the fight was instigated when, “The settlers started assaulting a 14-year-old, leading many Palestinian men to go and try to defend him,” reports Al Jazeera.
It said the soldier initially fired warning shots, then opened fire in self-defense, reports AP.
The Health Ministry identified the deceased as Thamin Dawabsheh, 35, a distant relative of a family targeted in a 2015 firebombing in the village by a settler. That attack killed a toddler and his parents. The attacker was convicted and handed three life sentences.
The West Bank has seen a rise in settler violence as well as Palestinian attacks since the start of the war in Gaza, and the Israeli military has carried out major military operations there. Rights groups and Palestinians say the military often turns a blind eye to violent settlers or intervenes to protect them.