Ramallah: Violence erupted in the occupied West Bank on Wednesday when a group of Israeli settlers stormed the Palestinian town of Kafr Malik, northeast of Ramallah, triggering clashes that resulted in the deaths of three Palestinians, according to Palestinian health officials and the Israeli military.
The Palestinian Health Ministry confirmed that three Palestinians were killed and seven others injured during the confrontation. The Israeli military reported that dozens of settlers vandalized and set fire to property in the town, prompting security forces to intervene following reports of escalating violence, including stone-throwing.
According to the military, several Palestinians threw rocks and opened fire at the responding Israeli forces, who then returned fire. Five Israeli suspects were arrested at the scene, and one Israeli army officer sustained light injuries.
Footage circulating on social media showed at least two vehicles in flames.
Reacting to the incident, senior Palestinian official Hussein al-Sheikh, a top aide to President Mahmoud Abbas, warned that Israeli actions were pushing the region toward further escalation. “The Israeli government's behavior and policies are driving the situation toward explosion,” he wrote on X, formerly Twitter, urging the international community to take immediate steps to safeguard Palestinian civilians.
In a separate incident earlier on Wednesday, the Palestinian Red Crescent reported that a Palestinian boy was fatally shot by Israeli forces during a military raid in Al-Yamun, a town near Jenin in the northern West Bank.
