Israeli forces on Friday began preparing for a major operation in the occupied West Bank after four Palestinians and two Israelis were killed in clashes in the area.
The military said on Friday that a group of settlers had entered an area in the West Bank that is restricted to Israeli civilians for an “unauthorized and disorderly hike.” As the group approached the Palestinian village of Tell, clashes broke out between settlers and village residents.
The ensuing gunfight led to widespread violence across the West Bank, leaving four Palestinians and two Israeli soldiers (one of whom was also a settler) dead.
Far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich called for the destruction of Palestinian villages in the area in retaliation for the murdered Israelis.
“The population must be evacuated for their own protection, and these villages must be cleared of terrorist infrastructure and terrorists to restore deterrence and security to the region,” he said on Friday.
Video of the incident shows soldiers and armed Israeli settlers forcing Palestinians out of the area, with calls for “revenge” heard in Hebrew in the background. Armed settlers approach two Palestinian men and appear to use rifles to try to chase them away. One of the Palestinians can be seen grabbing the strap of a weapon.
A few seconds later, one of the Palestinian men is seen holding a weapon, after the video refocuses on the incident. At least a dozen gunshots rang out from what appeared to be several different locations.
The military said a Palestinian man took weapons from security personnel in the nearby Havat Gilad settlement. A police officer was reportedly killed in the incident. The military said a second soldier also died in the incident. It is not clear whether the incident captured on video shows the exact moment the officers were killed.
The Palestinian Ministry of Health said the four Palestinians who died were shot by Israeli soldiers.
Walid Zayden, leader of the Tell village committee, said they were all part of the same family, including two brothers and two cousins. The Health Ministry added that at least three other people were wounded by Israeli gunfire.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) announced a curfew in the Palestinian villages of Tel and Breiji and the nearby Jewish settlement of Shiloh.
Despite footage of the incident in which the altercation escalated and the Israeli military admitted that the killing of the Israeli was not pre-planned, the Israel Defense Forces treated the incident as a terrorist attack and announced a “massive” operation in the area to search for “dozens of Palestinians” involved in the incident.
The IDF said it was canceling leave for soldiers operating in the area and preparing to send reinforcements. The IDF said it was concerned about the potential for settler violence, amid reports of settler attacks and assaults on Palestinian villages in the region.
Settler attacks continued in neighboring areas of the West Bank, including Fallata, Imatin, Zitt, the Iraqi towns of Blin, and Hebron’s Masafah Yatta district.
Videos and photos obtained by CNN from Falata residents show settlers setting fire to homes, cars and businesses in the village. In one part of town, settlers spray-painted the word “revenge” on a wall and uprooted an olive grove with two bulldozers.
The Palestinian Red Crescent Society said on Friday afternoon that eight people were injured in the Falata attack, six of whom were in hospital after being shot.
In a statement after the Tell incident, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ordered the military to accelerate the establishment of more settlements and farms and the legalization of existing farms in the region.
Although West Bank settlements are considered illegal under international law and by most of the international community and the United Nations, settlers have successfully established dozens of unauthorized outposts in recent years, eventually gaining recognition from the Israeli government.
Friday’s incident comes amid a significant escalation in settler violence across the occupied territories. Two Palestinians were shot dead by Israeli forces in Beit Hurik on Thursday after settlers reportedly torched Palestinian-owned fields and vehicles, locals said.
Days earlier, two more Palestinians were killed during an attack on settlers in the village of Deir Jalil near Ramallah, Palestinian health officials said.
CNN’s Oren Lieberman contributed reporting.
