A Palestinian man has been shot dead and several wounded after Israeli settlers went on a violent rampage in the occupied West Bank.

Residents told the BBC they feared for their lives as hundreds of armed settlers torched homes and cars in the town of Turmusaya.

One accused the Israeli army of leaving them helpless for 45 minutes during the attack.

"They gave the settlers the chance to do this," he said.

It was an apparent reprisal attack, hours after the funeral in a nearby settlement of a 17-year-old who was among four Israeli settlers shot dead by Palestinian gunmen at a petrol station on Tuesday.

The Israeli military condemned the settler attacks, but did not respond to questions about the speed or nature of its response.

Fears are mounting of an even more deadly bout of violence in the West Bank, coming after an Israeli military raid in the city of Jenin on Monday which killed seven Palestinians.

It saw some of the most intense fighting in the territory for years, involving Israeli forces using an Apache attack helicopter to fire missiles at militants who had targeted troop carriers with explosives, leaving seven Israeli soldiers wounded.

Among the Palestinians killed were two 15-year-olds and two Islamic Jihad militants.

That was claimed to be the trigger for the following day's deadly attack at a petrol station by gunmen from the militant group Hamas.

In turn, hard-line pro-settler ministers in Israel's religious-nationalist coalition have called for a full-scale military operation in the West Bank, including air strikes to destroy Palestinian buildings, while one MP called for "collective punishment" against ordinary Palestinians.

In Turmusaya, footage showed cars ablaze with thick clouds of black smoke swirling above the town, while the sound of tear gas or stun grenade blasts could be heard in the background.

The mayor, Lafi Adeeb, told the BBC about 400 settlers rampaged through the town, torching homes and cars, while he said five residents were hit with live ammunition.

Confrontations reportedly broke out between Israeli forces and some residents who had attempted to defend the town during the attacks.

The Palestinian health ministry said 27-year-old Omar Qateen was shot dead by Israeli forces "while confronting the settlers".

Israel's paramilitary border police said its forces were securing firefighters when residents "rioted" and troops fired at a man who shot at them. The BBC has not been able to verify the circumstances of his death.

Turmusaya is well known for its American ties and many Palestinians who live there are dual US citizens.

Resident Sam Abdullah told the BBC his daughter-in-law was visiting from the US and was inside the family home when settlers aimed a gun at her, trying to set the house on fire.

"They pointed inside each house and tried to lock people inside and burned the houses. They didn't give people any chance to leave. We were lucky to save my daughter," he said.

Her belongings including her US passport were destroyed when her rental car was torched, says Mr Abdullah.

"It took 45 minutes for the [Israeli] army to come. The army didn't help us when they started burning [the houses], they could have come in five or 10 minutes… They gave the settlers the chance to do this," said Mr Abdullah.

Another resident said she was visiting the doctor in nearby Ramallah when her children phoned and started screaming.

"My children were hiding in the basement… they told me settlers are attacking us, smashing the windows. The settlers threw Molotov cocktails to burn the house while they were inside. They sneaked out from the balcony while half the settlers were roaming around the house," she said.

"Thank God the youth rushed to help… Thank God my children are safe," she added.

In a statement the Israeli military condemned the violence and said: "Security forces entered the town in order to extinguish the fires, prevent clashes and to collect evidence. The Israeli civilians exited the town and the Israel Police has opened an investigation into the event."

The attacks in Turmusaya followed a night of settler violence elsewhere in the West Bank.

Residents in the village of Al-Lubban Al-Sharqeya said Israeli soldiers and police stood by as a large group of settlers burned a petrol station, orchards, a cement factory and dozens of cars.

Settlements are seen as illegal under international law, although Israel disputes this.

Attacks by settlers in the West Bank have drawn mounting international concern, particularly following a deadly rampage through the Palestinian town of Hawara earlier this year.

In an apparent reference to Wednesday's violence, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said: "We will not accept any challenge against the police and the security forces in these places and anywhere. We are a country of law."

Source:
courtesy of BBC NEWS

by Tom Bateman | BBC News, Jerusalem

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