According to medics, two Israelis were killed in a suspected Palestinian attack in the West Bank on Sunday. According to the Israeli army, an attacker opened fire on the occupants of an Israeli vehicle near an intersection south of the city of Nablus. Soldiers were therefore looking for the perpetrator or perpetrators. Eleven Palestinians were killed and more than 100 injured in an Israeli military operation in Nablus on Thursday. The incident happened while a meeting was taking place in the Jordanian port city of Aqaba, aimed at calming the situation in the West Bank. It involved representatives of Israel and the Palestinians, as well as Jordan, Egypt and the United States.
After the attack, in which brothers aged 20 and 22 were killed, Israeli settlers rioted in the village in the evening. Israeli television reported that they set fire to more than 30 Palestinian homes, shops and cars. Several Palestinian families were rescued from their burning homes by security forces. The army is increasing its presence on the ground to prevent further acts of violence.
The security situation in Israel and the Palestinian territories has long been extremely tense. Ten Israelis and one Ukrainian have been killed in Palestinian attacks since the beginning of the year. In the same period, 62 Palestinians lost their lives – they were shot in confrontations with the Israeli army or after their own attacks.
The Israeli cabinet on Sunday approved a draft law that would provide for the death penalty for terrorists. The controversial proposal still has to pass several readings in Parliament before it comes into force. A first vote is already expected on Wednesday. Israel conquered the West Bank and East Jerusalem in 1967. More than 600,000 Israeli settlers live there today. The Palestinians claim the territories for an independent state of Palestine with the Arab-influenced eastern part of Jerusalem as the capital.
