POLICE IN ISRAEL have announced that they have arrested four people suspected of “terrorist” acts against Palestinians in the West Bank.

The arrests were made in connection with an attack by Israeli settlers on the Palestinian village of Jit, which killed one Palestinian.

“Overnight, the Shin Bet security service and Israeli Police arrested four individuals, three adults and one minor, suspected in several acts of terrorism against Palestinians,” the security services said in a statement.

A spokesperson said that “all the events” that the suspects were arrested in connetion with happened in Jit on the same day.

Around 100 armed settlers attacked the village on 15 August, armed with knives and guns. Cars and homes were set on fire, and one man, Rasheed Mahmoud Sadah, 23, was killed.

The funeral of Rasheed Mahmoud Sadah, who was murdered by Israeli settlers during the attack. Alamy Stock Photo Alamy Stock Photo

The attack drew a rare condemnation from Israeli officials, as well as those in the United States, United Nations, and European Union.

The attack also drew criticism from the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation, which condemned “the organised terrorism and daily crimes committed by extremist settler gangs, under the protection of Israeli occupation forces”.

On Monday during a visit to Israel, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said he wanted “to see action taken” to prevent settler violence, and for accountability.

Since the onset of the war in Gaza last October, violence by settlers in the West Bank has flared. Since the invasion, at least 640 Palestinians have been killed by settlers and security forces. Palestinian attacks have led to the deaths of 19 Israelis.

With reporting from © AFP 2024.