Palestinian stabbed to death by settler during fight near West Bank settlement

The Palestinian Authority denounces that “this heinous crime confirms the terribleness of the occupation”

June 22 (EUROPA PRESS) –

A Palestinian died on Tuesday after being stabbed by a settler in a fight in the West Bank town of Iskaka, located in Salfit, according to the Palestinian authorities.

“Young Ali Hassan Harb died after being stabbed directly in the heart by a settler in the Iskaka area of ​​Salfit,” the Palestinian Ministry of Health said in a brief statement on its Facebook social network account.

Local sources quoted by the Palestinian news agency WAFA have stated that settlers set up tents on Palestinian land in the town and that when several residents went to expel them from the area, Harb was stabbed.

The Israel Police has confirmed the stabbing and has indicated that at the moment “the identity of the attacker is not clear”, according to the newspaper ‘The Times of Israel’. The West Bank town of Iskaka is located near the settlement of Ariel, south of Nablus.

“Police forces arrived at the scene, from where a wounded Palestinian man was evacuated in serious condition, apparently by a knife,” said the Israeli Police, without any arrests being recorded at the moment.

For its part, the Presidency of the Palestinian Authority has denounced that “this heinous crime confirms the terribleness of the occupation, whether soldiers or settlers, and its crimes against the defenseless people”, before recalling incidents such as the murder of the Dauabshé family or that of the young Mohamad abu Jdeir in Jerusalem.

“This is a continuation of the daily crimes committed by the occupation, in different ways, through the exchange of roles between the Army and the settlers. It cannot be tolerated,” he said, criticizing the first Palestinian minister, Mohamad Shtayé.

Thus, Shtayé lamented that “these crimes occur as a result of the lack of a dissuasive punishment for those responsible, who continue to ignore international decisions and condemnations.”

“The terrorists, soldiers and settlers, participate in the bloodshed of innocent people, including the elderly, youth, women and children, taking advantage of the feeling that they have impunity as long as the international community continues its silence and is content with condemnation statements that do not stop terrorism or deter criminals,” he concluded.

The UN envoy for the peace process in the Middle East, Tor Wennesland, has also condemned “the fatal stabbing of a Palestinian man, allegedly at the hands of an Israeli settler” and has outlined that “those responsible for the violence must be held accountable and be swiftly brought to justice.”