Palestinians brace for Israeli offensive across the West Bank following settler raid deaths
Israeli army deployed in the streets of Nablus during a military operation in the city, 12 July 2026
Qassam Muaddi reports in Mondoweiss on 24 July 2026:
Palestinians in the West Bank are bracing for an escalation of the Israeli crackdown on their communities after armed Israeli settlers killed four Palestinians in the village of Til, southwest of Nablus in the northern West Bank, on Friday morning. The four Palestinians were executed in the field while they were defending their lands against a settler attack, during which an altercation between a settler and one of the village’s residents led to the death of the settler amid the onslaught on the village.
On Friday morning, a group of armed Israeli settlers had stormed a plot of land in Til and were confronted by local Palestinian villagers, who had rushed to the scene to defend against the settler incursion. A physical altercation ensued, during which a Palestinian grabbed the rifle of an Israeli settler and fired it, according to local reports and video footage, killing one Israeli. Israeli settlers then opened fire on the crowd of Palestinians, killing four and wounding at least seven others. A second Israeli was also killed during the incident, although it remains unclear whether he was killed by the Palestinian who fired the gun or by friendly fire.
The incident sparked a wave of incitement that soon included Israeli politicians calling for large-scale military action across the entire West Bank. The Israeli army subsequently announced that it would conduct a wide-scale operation to arrest Palestinians involved in the incident. Israeli forces also sealed off the city of Nablus and its governorate, closing down surrounding roads, while settler groups went on a rampage against five Palestinian towns in the northern West Bank, torching property and opening fire at inhabitants.