After two settlers were killed by a Palestinian gunman in the northern West Bank, dozens of Israeli settlers went on a violent rampage, razing dozens of vehicles and homes.
In what looked to be the worst outburst of settler violence in decades, one man was reported dead and four other people suffered serious injuries, according to Palestinian medical personnel.
After the fatal shooting on Sunday and the late-night rampage, Jordan’s claim that Israeli and Palestinian officials had agreed to end a year-long wave of violence was instantly questioned.
The shooting on Sunday in Hawara came days after an Israeli military raid in the neighboring city of Nablus resulted in the deaths of 10 Palestinians. The killing took place on a busy street that is used by both Israeli settlers and Palestinians. The two dead men were recognized as brothers from the Jewish community of Har Bracha, aged 21 and 19.
According to Palestinian media, about 30 homes and vehicles were set on fire. Social media posts on the incident showed widespread fires burning and lighting up the sky in the town of Hawara, which was the site of the fatal shooting earlier in the day.
The Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, made a call for peace and spoke out against vigilante violence as footage of the violence was broadcast on evening news programs. “I ask that when blood is boiling and the spirit is hot, don’t take the law into your hands,” saying this in a video statement.