At least three people were killed in violence in the West Bank on Sunday after a Palestinian gunman shot two brothers driving through the occupied territories and Israeli settlers responded with an attack that killed a Palestinian.
The attacks took place in the Huwara region, at a time when officials from both sides met in Jordan at the weekend to discuss ways to reduce tension.
According to the Israeli army, the Palestinian gunman arrived at an intersection “and opened fire on an Israeli vehicle”. The victims were brothers from the settlement of Har Bracha, eight kilometers away, and one of them was part of a military program for students.
Following this first case, Palestinians said Israelis from a nearby settlement attacked several homes and set fire to at least 15 vehicles.
A 37-year-old Palestinian man was shot dead by an Israeli settler, Palestinian authorities said. Israeli military personnel stationed in the area had no immediate comment.
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has said he holds the Israeli government fully responsible for the attacks, and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said soldiers are searching for the attacker.
“I ask you not to take justice into your own hands. Let the army and security forces do their job,” Netanyahu said.
The European Union’s Middle East envoy, Sven Koopmans, said he was “alarmed by the spiral of violence” and urged all authorities to “end the bloodshed and impunity immediately”.