Israeli settlers rampage through a West Bank village, killing 1 Palestinian, wounding 25

JERUSALEM — Dozens of angry Israeli settlers stormed into a Palestinian village in the West Bank on Friday. The rampage left a Palestinian man dead and 25 others wounded, Palestinian health officials said.

An Israeli rights group said the settlers were searching for a missing 14-year-old boy from their settlement. After the rampage, Israeli troops said they were still searching for the teen.

The killing came after an Israeli raid overnight killed two Palestinians, including a Hamas terrorist, in confrontation with Israeli forces.

The Israeli human rights group Yesh Din said that settlers stormed into the village of al-Mughayyir late Friday, searching for the Israeli boy. The group said that settlers were shooting and setting houses on fire in the village.

Videos posted to X by the rights group showed dark clouds of smoke billowing from burning cars as gunshots rang out. A photo posted by the group showed what appeared to be a crowd of masked settlers.

The deceased man was later identified by his family as 26-year-old Jehad Abu Alia.

The attack was condemned by Mohamed Mustafa, the new Palestinian prime minister.

The Israeli army said it was searching for the 14-year-old boy, and that forces had opened fire when stones were hurled at soldiers by Palestinians. It said soldiers also cleared out Israeli settlers from the village.

“As of this moment, the violent riots have been dispersed and there are no Israeli civilians present within the town,” it said.

U.S. officials, including President Joe Biden, have repeatedly raised concerns about a surge in settler violence against Palestinians in the West Bank since Israel’s war with the Hamas terrorist group in the Gaza Strip began. Rights groups have long accused the military of failing to halt settler violence or punish soldiers for wrongdoing.

Earlier on Friday, two Palestinians were killed in confrontations with Israeli forces in the northern West Bank, Palestinian medics and the military said. Hamas said one of those killed was a local commander.

The military said the target of the soldiers’ raid was Mohammed Daraghmeh, a local Hamas commander. It said Daraghmeh was killed in a shootout with Israeli soldiers who discovered weapons in his car. The army alleged that Daraghmeh had been planning attacks on Israeli targets. It also said assailants hurled explosives at soldiers.

The Israel-Hamas war started on Oct. 7, when Hamas terrorists killed 1,200 Israelis, mostly civilians, in a surprise attack and incursion into southern Israel. Around 250 people were seized as hostages by the terrorists and taken to Gaza.

Israeli bombardments and ground offensives in Gaza have killed more than 33,600 Palestinians and wounded over 76,200, the Hamas-run Health Ministry in Gaza says. The ministry doesn’t differentiate between civilians and combatants in its tally.

Israel says it has killed more than 12,000 militants during the war.