Israel Prepares 'Major' West Bank Operation After Violent Clash

The Israeli military is preparing to launch a “major” operation in the occupied West Bank after a confrontation between Jewish settlers and Palestinian residents in which at least six people were killed.

Four Palestinians and two Israelis died in the violence near the village of Tell on Friday, marking the deadliest incident in the Palestinian territory for months. This was followed by settler attacks on multiple Palestinian villages.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ordered the military to carry out a “forceful” operation and directed Israeli authorities to accelerate the legalisation of settlement outposts in the Palestinian territory. Israeli settlements in the West Bank are illegal under international law, and their outposts are illegal even under Israeli law.

The violence occurs at a time of heightened tensions in the West Bank, with Netanyahu’s far-right government expanding settlements and Jewish settlers repeatedly carrying out attacks on Palestinians to drive them off their land.

According to the UN’s humanitarian arm, Ocha, settlers conducted over 1,800 attacks on Palestinians causing casualties or damage last year. A further 761 attacks by settlers have been logged in the first four months of this year.

The Financial Times reports that Israeli forces surrounded the town of Nablus on Friday and arrested two people they said had been involved in the violence in Tell.