Israeli forces carry out a crackdown in the Palestinian village of Tal in the occupied West Bank as more than 100 Israeli settlers march toward it, residents say. On Friday, Israeli troops shoot and wound at least one Palestinian, arrest at least three people, and close entrances to the village, according to residents. The incident follows an attack by settlers last weekend that left four Palestinians and two Israelis dead. Israeli officials, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government, describe the event as terrorism, while additional video later circulated showing armed settlers shoving Palestinians.
Villagers say they are defending themselves against repeated settler attacks that they say aim to drive them off their land. They describe the current escalation as part of a broader trend: a three-year surge in settler violence in the West Bank. Multiple sources also say that, since at least last Friday, the Israeli military conducts near-daily raids and arrests in Tal, which lies near Nablus in the northern West Bank. Most countries and UN bodies consider Israeli settlements illegal under international law.
