Two Israeli Settlers Killed, One Critically Wounded in Northern West Bank Shooting

Friday, 07 April 2023 10:26 AM 

This picture shows the scene of a purported shooting attack in the occupied West Bank, near the illegal settlement of Hamra, on April 7, 2023. (Photo via Twitter)

At least two Israeli settlers have been killed and another is seriously wounded after they came under a shooting attack in the northern part of the West Bank, amid heightened tensions across the occupied Palestinian territories after Israeli forces violently stormed the al-Aqsa Mosque compound and attacked Palestinian worshipers.

According to the Israeli ZAKA emergency service and local officials, the women were shot at near the illegal settlement of Hamra in the Jordan Valley on Friday. Two of the three settlers later succumbed to their gunshot wounds.

The Israeli military announced in a statement that troops are searching for suspects who opened fire at the car, causing it to crash.

Tensions are remaining high in al-Quds since Israeli forces attacked worshipers in the al-Aqsa Mosque compound overnight on Wednesday, during the holy month of Ramadan. The raid on the sacred site left at least 12 Palestinians injured.

World leaders have condemned Israeli forces’ violence against Palestinian worshipers at the al-Aqsa Mosque compound.

The raids continued into Thursday morning when Israeli troops were once again seen assaulting and pushing Palestinians out of the compound and preventing them from praying – before extremist settlers were allowed in under police protection.

At least 400 Palestinians were arrested on Wednesday and remain in Israeli custody, according to Palestinian officials. They are being held at a police station in Atarot settlement in occupied East al-Quds.

Palestinian witnesses said Israeli forces used excessive force, including stun grenades and tear gas, causing suffocation injuries to the worshipers, and beatings with batons and rifles.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres was “shocked and appalled” by images of Israeli forces beating people at the al-Aqsa Mosque compound, his spokesman said on Wednesday.

Stephane Dujarric said Guterres viewed images of the “violence and beating” within the holy site, and found it more distressing because it came “at a time of a calendar which is holy to Jews, Christians and Muslims that should be a time for peace and nonviolence.”

“Places of worship should only be used for peaceful religious observances,” he added.

The Arab League also called on the UN Security Council to intervene to halt Israeli “crimes” at the al-Aqsa Mosque compound.

The 22-member regional organization, in a statement issued following an emergency meeting in Cairo on Wednesday, condemned Israeli assaults.

“These crimes escalated dangerously in the past days of Ramadan, and led to hundreds of injuries and arrests of worshiper, incursions and deliberate desecration of the sanctity of al-Aqsa Mosque by extremist Israeli officials and settlers under the protection of the occupation forces,” it said.

The statement rejected “all forms of Israeli violations of Islamic and Christian holy places, especially those aimed at changing the historical and legal status quo at the al-Aqsa Mosque.

On Thursday, Iran’s President Ebrahim Raeisi called for an emergency meeting of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) to discuss the status quo in the occupied Palestinian territories.

During a telephone conversation with his Indonesian counterpart Joko Widodo, Raeisi demanded that the 57-member body convene an emergency meeting in order to arrive at a joint decision on how to defend the rights of innocent Palestinians and confront the Tel Aviv regime’s crimes and atrocities.

The Iranian president described Palestine as the beating heart of the Muslim world, stressing that “support for the rights of the Palestinian nation and fight against the Zionist regime constitute an underlying principle of the Muslim Ummah.”