On 26 February 2023, an unidentified person fatally shot two Israeli settlers in their car in Huwara, a town south of Nablus in the Israeli-occupied West Bank. Following the shooting, Israeli settlers carried out revenge attacks on Palestinians, which have killed at least one Palestinian and injured around 100 others. On 7 March, one 49-year-old suspect was killed during an Israeli incursion into Jenin.
| 2023 Huwara shooting | |
|---|---|
| Part of the Israeli–Palestinian conflict | |
 The attack aftermath | |
  Location of Huwara, West Bank | |
| Native name | פיגוע הירי בחווארה |
| Location | Huwara, Israeli-occupied West Bank |
| Date | 26 February 2023 13:40 (UTC+2) |
| Target | Israelis |
Attack type | Mass shooting |
| Weapons | M16 rifle |
| Deaths | 2 victims |
| Perpetrator | Hamas[1][2] |
No. of participants | 1 |
Shooting
editIncident
editOn 26 February 2023, four days after the incursion in Nablus, an unidentified attacker shot and killed two Israelis in a car near the Einbus intersection along Highway 60 in Huwara, south of Nablus.[3][4] The attacker shot the two Israelis with an M16 rifle while they were driving[5] and then fled the scene on foot.[6]
Assailant
editSources pointed to a Hamas gunman as the assailant,[7][8] but no group claimed responsibility for the shooting.[3] On March 7, the suspected attacker, 49-year-old Abdel Fattah Hussein Kharousha, was killed along with five other Palestinians during an Israeli raid in Jenin.[9][10][11]
Victims
editThe two Israelis killed in the shooting were brothers named Hillel Menachem Yaniv and Yagel Ya’acov Yaniv. They were from the Har Brakha settlement,[12] and were described as yeshiva students.[13] One of the brothers had just completed his service in the Israeli Navy.[14]
Subsequent riots
editLater on the same day, groups of Israeli settlers rioted in the region, carrying out revenge attacks. One Palestinian man was fatally shot in the abdomen in neighboring Za'tara. An analysis by journalists for +972 Magazine of 14 videos of the assault conducted by 40-50 settlers, who had returned to Za'tara after being repulsed the first time, concluded that the simultaneous attack on Za'atara in which Sameh Aqtesh was shot dead was conducted under Israeli army escort.[15] In Huwara itself, 98 Palestinians were injured as settlers torched Palestinian homes.[3][14][16]
See also
edit
References
edit- ^ "המודיעין הזהיר אך המחבל הרוצח שוחרר". Archived from the original on 3 November 2023. Retrieved 24 October 2023.
- ^ "הוברח לדירת מסתור בג'נין, הוקף בחמושים: המידע שהוביל לחיסול המחבל מחווארה". Archived from the original on 23 August 2023. Retrieved 24 October 2023.
- ^ a b c Gold, Hadas; Tal, Amir; Salman, Abeer (26 February 2023). "Two Israeli settlers killed in West Bank shooting, days after Israeli raid kills 11 Palestinians". CNN. Archived from the original on 27 February 2023. Retrieved 27 February 2023.
- ^ "PT: Shooting leaves two people dead near Huwara in the West Bank, Feb. 26". Crisis24. 26 February 2023. Archived from the original on 27 February 2023. Retrieved 27 February 2023.
- ^ Gold, Hadas (27 February 2023). "Israeli military calls settler attacks on Palestinians 'actions of terror' after weekend of violence". CNN. Archived from the original on 28 February 2023. Retrieved 28 February 2023.
- ^ Breiner, Josh (26 February 2023). "Israeli Settlers Rampage Through West Bank Town; Palestinians Report One Killed, Dozens Wounded". Haaretz. Archived from the original on 26 February 2023. Retrieved 27 February 2023.
- ^ Sawafta, Raneen (19 March 2023). "Gunman captured after attack on Israeli couple in West Bank town". Reuters. Archived from the original on 19 March 2023. Retrieved 3 July 2023.
- ^ Federman, Josef (26 February 2023). "Israeli settlers rampage after Palestinian gunman kills 2 in West Bank". PBS NewsHour. Archived from the original on 30 May 2023. Retrieved 3 July 2023.
- ^ Fabian, Emanuel (7 March 2023). "Alleged Huwara terrorist among six Palestinians killed as IDF raids Jenin". Times of Israel. Archived from the original on 7 March 2023. Retrieved 7 March 2023.
- ^ Williams, Dan; al-Mughrabi, Nidal; Mackenzie, James (7 March 2023). Cawthorne, Andrew (ed.). "Israeli forces kill gunman suspected of Huwara shooting - Israeli TV". Reuters. Archived from the original on 8 March 2023. Retrieved 21 March 2023.
- ^ Kershner, Isabel (7 March 2023). "6 Palestinians Killed in Israeli Raid in West Bank". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 12 March 2023. Retrieved 21 March 2023.
- ^ Joffre, Tzvi (26 February 2023). "'No words can console us': Hillel, Yagel Yaniv killed in terror attack". The Jerusalem Post. Archived from the original on 26 February 2023. Retrieved 27 February 2023.
- ^ Glenn, Matis (26 February 2023). "After Deadly Terror Attack, Death Penalty for Terrorists Passes First Hurdle". Hamodia. Archived from the original on 27 February 2023. Retrieved 27 February 2023.
- ^ a b Joffre, Tzvi; Jeremy Bob, Yonah; Silkoff, Shira (27 February 2023). "Huwara terrorist still at large after killing two, manhunt underway". The Jerusalem Post. Archived from the original on 26 February 2023. Retrieved 27 February 2023.
- ^ Ziv, Oren; Abraham, Yuval (5 March 2023). "'I couldn't see if my brother's murderer was a soldier or settler'". +972 Magazine. Archived from the original on 19 March 2023. Retrieved 24 April 2023.
- ^ Lieber, Dov; Boxerman, Aaron (26 February 2023). "Israel, Palestinian Authority Pledge to Reduce West Bank Violence". The Wall Street Journal. Archived from the original on 26 February 2023. Retrieved 27 February 2023.