Settlers Attack Palestinians on the West Bank as Netanyahu Vows Retaliation Following Fatal Clashes

Following a violent clash near the village of Tell that left multiple Palestinians and two Israelis dead, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced sweeping new anti-terror measures and retaliatory operations across the West Bank.

Netanyahu Announces Major Anti-Terror Operations and Security Measures

“In light of the terrorist attacks over the past 24 hours, Defense Minister Israel Katz and I have instructed the Israel Defense Forces to take a series of decisive actions against terrorism,” Netanyahu wrote on the platform X.

Israel is implementing additional security measures on the West Bank, including new operations in villages deemed terror hotspots, the confiscation of stored weapons, the revocation of work permits for terror suspects, the reinforcement of troops, and the acceleration of legalizing and building Jewish settlements.

“We will pursue terrorists everywhere. We will reach the perpetrators of the attacks, those who send them, and everyone who helps them – and we will hold them accountable,” the Israeli prime minister emphasized, contrasting with past statements where he dismissed settlement extremists as unrepresentative.

Fatal Shootings Erupt During Clashes Near Tell

Israeli settlement on the Palestinian West Bank is illegal under international law.

Netanyahu also announced the planned destruction of the home of the terrorist who carried out an attack near the village of Tell on Friday morning, July 24, where a shootout between Palestinians and settlers resulted in the deaths of four Palestinians, an Israeli settlement guard, and an Israeli soldier.

The Israel Defense Forces reported that Duvdevan commandos detained two Palestinians suspected of involvement in the morning shootout at a hospital in Nablus for interrogation by the Shin Bet security agency.

Video Footage Captures Deadly Struggle and Escalating Violence

Numerous recordings show the incident beginning with an attack by a group of Israeli extremists on the village, prompting residents to defend themselves, during which a Palestinian wrestled a rifle away from an armed Israeli advancing with a direct aim and shot the 32-year-old settlement security guard.

Following the event, the Israeli Security Forces shot and killed that man along with three other Palestinians, an action Palestinian officials termed a field execution, while eight other individuals sustained injuries from the combined attacks.

Middle East journalist Jarosław Kociszewski reported that settler children chanted “Revenge!” from the start of the footage, noting that armed settlers daily attack Palestinian villages, burn fields and homes, and beat residents, leading up to the fatal struggle over the weapon.

Journalists and Human Rights Groups Warn of Impending Bloodshed

Kociszewski added that footage shows soldiers shooting at lying Palestinians in a procedure resembling “biduj hariga”—an illegal practice of ensuring an enemy is dead by shooting wounded individuals—while noting the Israeli version claims tourists were attacked by Palestinian terrorists.

On Friday, settlers intensified attacks by invading the village of Dura near Hebron, Qalqilya, and Far’ata, burning homes and vehicles, destroying olive trees, and attacking ambulances while the Palestine Red Crescent treated live-fire gunshot victims.

Journalist Jasper Nathaniel shared a WhatsApp screenshot from a settler channel showing a river of blood with the caption “this is revenge. No settlements, no promises of more settlements. We want to see blood. There is no comfort without revenge,” as human rights organizations appealed to the international community to prevent mass pogroms.