Israeli settler fire kills two in occupied West Bank

The Palestinian health ministry said on Sunday that Israeli settlers shot dead two Palestinians in the occupied West Bank, the second deadly incident reported in as many days.

A ministry statement said Thaer Faruq Hamayel, 24, and Farea Jawdat Hamayel, 57, were killed by settler fire in the town of Abu Falah, northeast of Ramallah.

It did not say when the incident occurred or provide further details.

Contacted by AFP, the Israeli military said it was “looking into” the report.

Violence in the West Bank, which Israel has occupied since 1967. It has continued despite the ceasefire.

On Saturday, the Ramallah-based health ministry and a local mayor said Israeli settlers shot dead a Palestinian man and wounded his brother in an attack on another West Bank village, Wadi al-Rakhim.

Mohammad Rabai, head of the nearby Tuwani village council, told AFP that settlers had entered homes in the area and attacked the family of 27-year-old Amir Mohammad Shnaran who later died.

The Israeli military said soldiers and police were dispatched to the scene after reports of a “violent confrontation” between Israelis and Palestinians.

It said an investigation was underway.

Israeli troops or settlers have killed at least 1,042 Palestinians in the West Bank since the start of the Gaza war, according to an AFP tally based on Palestinian health ministry figures.

At least 45 Israelis, including both soldiers and civilians, have been killed in Palestinian attacks or during Israeli military operations, according to official Israeli figures.