Israeli settlers attacked a town in the occupied West Bank on Wednesday, leading to a confrontation that ended with troops killing three Palestinians.
More than 100 settlers took part in the attack in Kafr Malik, according to the Yesh Din rights group. It happened in the presence of Israeli soldiers, the group added.
Footage from the attack showed several homes and cars being set on fire. Settlers also threw stones at residents and at their houses, Palestinian media reported.
The Israeli army confirmed its troops had opened fire, saying they were shooting back at Palestinian gunmen.
The soldiers returned fire “at the source of the gunfire and the stone throwers”, the army said. “Hits were identified, and it has emerged there are several injured and dead,” it added.
Five Israelis were detained and handed over to the police for participating in the attack.
Hussein Al Sheikh, deputy to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, condemned the attack.
“The government of Israel, with its behaviour and decisions, is pushing the region to explode,” he said in a post on X. “We call on the international community to intervene urgently to protect our Palestinian people.”
Earlier in the day, masked Israeli settlers set a car on fire near Ramallah. Wafa news agency also reported that settlers threw stones at Palestinians in Asira Al Qibliya.
Settlers attacks in the occupied West Bank have been taking place almost daily with little action from Israeli authorities and security forces, despite growing western condemnation and sanctions.
Earlier this month, the UK sanctioned far-right Israeli ministers Bezalel Smotrich and Itamar Ben-Gvir for inciting “extremist violence and serious abuses” of Palestinians through their support of settler violence.
Violence against Palestinians in West Bank by Israeli troops and settlers has increased sharply since Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's far-right government took office in December 2022, and particularly since the October 7, 2023 Hamas-led attack on Israel that sparked the ongoing war in Gaza.
According to the latest report by UN humanitarian organisation OCHA, 616 Palestinians were killed in the West Bank between January 1, 2024 and April 30, 2025, including 605 by Israeli forces.
