- At least one Palestinian was killed and roughly 25 others were injured after hundreds of Israeli settlers raided homes and opened fire at residents in the Palestinian village of Al-Mughayyir, east of Ramallah, in the occupied West Bank on Friday. CNN (LR: 2 CP: 5)
- Amin Abu-Alia, head of the village council and a relative of the deceased, claimed an estimated 1K Israeli settlers surrounded the village midday on Friday, before around 500 raided it. Videos from the incident show plumes of smoke billowing from dozens of cars and buildings that had been set ablaze. CNN (LR: 2 CP: 5)
- The Israeli rights group Yesh Din said that settlers were looking from a 14-year-old Israeli boy who had gone missing from a nearby settlement. After the Israeli military later helped put a stop to the raid, they said neither they nor the settlers had located the teenager. Guardian (LR: 2 CP: 5)
- The night before, Israel Defense Forces (IDF) too raided the village in search of the teen. Two Palestinians were killed, one of whom was confirmed to be a Hamas militant who had confronted Israeli forces. The other was killed after IDF forces opened fire on a group of Palestinians that had been throwing stones. Associated Press (LR: 3 CP: 5)
- Friday's events were the worst of their kind this year and had not been seen since two similar instances in the villages of Turmusayya and Huwara last year. Since the Hamas attacks on Israel last year, health officials said that at least 460 Palestinians were killed by violence in the West Bank. Israeli officials said 13 Israelis were killed by Palestinians in the same period. CNN (LR: 2 CP: 5)
- Last month, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk said that the number of illegal Israeli settlements in occupied Palestinian territories in the West Bank had expanded by a record amount and risk eliminating any practical possibility of a Palestinian state. His report documented 24.3K new Israeli housing units since last year. Reuters (LR: 3 CP: 5)
Pro-establishment narrative:
- This incident is among the latest in a troubling trend of increasing settler violence in the West Bank that has accompanied Israel's attacks on Gaza after the Hamas attacks of Oct. 7. The US, including Pres. Joe Biden, have rightly raised concerns about the surge in settler violence.
ASSOCIATED PRESS (LR: 3 CP: 5)
Pro-Palestine narrative:
- In violation of international law, Israel continues to expand the number of settlements outide its internationally recognized borders, continuing to take Palestinian land with complete impunity. There can be no prospect of a Palestinian state if these war crimes continue without punishment.
REUTERS (LR: 3 CP: 5)
Pro-Israel narrative:
- These riots broke out after 14-year-old Binyamin Ahimeir went missing, feared to be kidnapped by Palestinian terrorists in the West Bank. The settlers attacked the village in an attempt to rescue the teenager.
JERUSALEM POST (LR: 3 CP: 5)