Two Palestinians shot dead by Israeli forces as West Bank fields set ablaze
Two Palestinian men were killed by Israeli forces in the West Bank town of Beit Furik after attempting to extinguish fires on farmland. Four Palestinians were injured in the incident. Israel withheld the bodies of the deceased, while local officials reported the fires were started by Israeli settlers.
A confrontation in the occupied West Bank resulted in the deaths of two Palestinian men and injuries to four others in Beit Furik, located east of Nablus. According to local Palestinian officials and the Palestinian news agency Wafa, the incident occurred when residents attempted to extinguish fires burning in surrounding agricultural fields. Israeli forces and settlers opened fire during the response, killing two of the injured men. The Israeli military later withheld the bodies of the deceased.
Beit Furik's mayor, Yousef Hanani, stated that town residents were attacked by Israeli soldiers and settlers while trying to suppress the flames. However, Israel presented a different account, claiming that Palestinians had initiated the fires and attacked settlers from the Derech Avraham outpost near the Elon Moreh settlement. According to the Israeli military, an Israeli man was stabbed during the altercation and required airlifted medical evacuation.
Local security sources maintained that Palestinians were defending their agricultural land when attacked. The incident resulted in broader restrictions on the town, with Israeli forces sealing all entrances and deploying soldiers and settlers throughout the surrounding area. Dozens of Palestinians became trapped within Beit Furik. Israeli forces also forced at least one family to evacuate their home following an assault on the homeowner. Beyond the casualties, the fires damaged electrical infrastructure and settlers set fire to two Palestinian-owned vehicles.
The Palestinian Red Crescent Society reported treating two men, aged 40 and 43, for abdominal gunshot wounds and transferring them to hospital. On the same evening, a third Palestinian man was shot dead near the Ganim settlement, with the Israeli military claiming he had stabbed a soldier before being killed.
This incident reflects broader escalation in West Bank violence since Israel's military operations in Gaza began, characterized by increased military raids and settler activity operating in coordination. The same day witnessed a separate inflammatory event when thousands of Israeli settlers and far-right political figures, including National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, raided the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound in occupied East Jerusalem and performed Jewish rituals at the Muslim holy site.
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