RAMALLAH/JERUSALEM, Oct 1 (Reuters) – Israeli militant settlers shot two Palestinians, killing one and injuring the other, in an attack on the village of Yasuf in the Israeli-occupied West Bank on Thursday, according to Palestinian officials.
In a surge of violence, Israel’s military and settlers have killed more than 80 Palestinians in the West Bank since the beginning of 2026, according to the UN.
In the latest incident, settlers shot dead Mashour Yassin, 51, during an attack on his home on the outskirts of Yasuf, village council head Jumaa Abdel Fattah said.
The assailants came from the direction of a settler outpost built near the village about two months ago, Fattah said.
“The settlers have been attacking the village continuously since the outpost was established,” he added.
The Israeli military said the Palestinians had thrown stones at Israelis approaching the village, and the military dispersed those involved. It added that the Israeli military had fired shots toward the Palestinians.
It did not immediately clarify why Israeli settlers were encroaching on the village.
Fattah said that the settlers had shot the two Palestinians before the Israeli military arrived. The Israeli military did not immediately comment on the timing.
Rights groups say the increasing settler presence on the edge of villages is part of a campaign to seize land and eat into territory where Palestinians aim to establish a state.
Israel captured the West Bank in 1967 and since then the territory has been under Israeli military occupation, with settlers emboldened by the government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who has overseen a massive expansion of Jewish outposts.
The UN and most countries regard Israeli settlements as illegal under international law governing military occupations. Israel disagrees with that interpretation and says the territory’s status is disputed.
(Reporting by Ali Sawafta and Pesha Magid; Writing by Pesha Magid; Editing by Andrew Cawthorne and Mark Porter)
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