West Bank violence flares as Israelis, Palestinians meet

Palestinian is arrested after attack in the flashpoint town of Huwara that wounded an American.

Israeli soldiers patrol Huwara following the shooting on Sunday. Picture: AFP

The Israeli military said a Palestinian shot a US-Israeli man as he drove through the Palestinian town of Huwara in the occupied West Bank, as Israeli and Palestinian officials met in Egypt in an attempt to curb a deadly wave of violence between the two sides.

Huwara has become a flashpoint for violence between Israelis and Palestinians. Last month, two Israeli brothers were killed while driving through Huwara, which was followed by an attack by hundreds of Israeli settlers on the Palestinian town that left one Palestinian dead, hundreds injured and scores of homes and buildings destroyed.

Israeli authorities said 30-year-old David Stern, who lives in a settlement in the northern West Bank, was seriously wounded in the attack. His wife, a passenger in the car, was treated for clinical shock, according to first responders. The two had been driving on Road 60 — the West Bank’s main highway — which passes through the middle of Huwara.

Israeli troops set up roadblocks in the area and later arrested the suspected Palestinian shooter, an Israeli military spokesperson said. Palestinian militant groups praised the attack as legitimate resistance, although none immediately took responsibility. The Israeli military said it was preparing for possible revenge attacks by Israeli settlers in the area.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he was praying for the recovery of the wounded man. “Anyone trying to harm the citizens of Israel will pay the price,” he added.

The shooting came as Israeli and Palestinian officials met in Egypt’s southern resort city of Sharm El Sheikh in an effort to calm rising tensions ahead of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, which this year overlaps with Passover and Easter. Egyptian, US and Jordanian mediators were also present, the Egyptian Foreign Ministry said in a written statement.

Israeli and Palestinian officials made a joint statement at the end of the summit repeating an Israeli pledge made at a February summit in Aqaba, Jordan, to temporarily freeze the approval of new settlement units in the West Bank.

The two sides also agreed to establish joint committees to handle violence, incitement and the poor fiscal situation of the Palestinian Authority.

The summits — which aim to bolster ailing security ties between the two sides — have drawn criticism from both Israelis and Palestinians. After the February attack in Huwara, some Israeli coalition members demanded that Israel immediately withdraw from the meetings. Many Palestinians see the meetings as pointless collaboration with Israel.

Israelis and Palestinians have been living through one of the deadliest periods in recent years. At least 87 Palestinians, both militants and civilians, have been killed in Israeli raids throughout the West Bank since the start of 2023. At least 13 Israeli civilians and one police officer were killed during the same period in Palestinian attacks.

Last year was one of the deadliest in the West Bank in nearly two decades. Security co-operation between Israel and the Palestinian Authority has frayed as the Israeli military conducts deadly raids deep in Palestinian-administered territory, in what Israeli officials say is a response to Palestinian terrorist attacks.

Israeli troops raided the Palestinian city of Jenin on Thursday, leaving four Palestinians dead. Two were senior militants in Hamas, which rules the Gaza Strip, and Iran-backed Islamic Jihad. The other two, including a 16-year-old, weren’t claimed by any militant group.

Palestinian militants fired a rocket from the Gaza Strip into southern Israel on Saturday night. The missile landed in an open area and didn’t cause any casualties, the army said.

Last week, an Israeli was seriously wounded by a roadside bomb that authorities said had been planted by a man who had sneaked across the border from Lebanon. The Israeli military said Hezbollah — a US-designated terror group — might be involved.

The Wall Street Journal