Night Raids in Kafr Ein and Beit Ummar Leave Four Dead
Further south in Beit Ummar, north of Hebron, clashes broke out shortly after 10 p.m. following an Israeli military raid. Ibrahim Abu Aias, the deputy mayor of Beit Ummar, stated that soldiers attacked the town for no reason
and were shooting everywhere without a second thought
using live ammunition, tear gas, and rubber bullets. Among the nine injured was Mufid al-Khalil, 44, who later died of bullet wounds to the head. According to Abu Aias, Khalil was not participating in the confrontations but had stepped outside his home to see what was happening when he was struck. The Israeli military did not confirm Khalil’s death, though it maintained that its troops came under attack after two military vehicles stalled just outside the town.
On Tuesday morning, a fourth Palestinian, 45-year-old Ghani Maamoun Faiz Abu Ali from Beitunia, was shot dead by Israeli police following a car chase at the northern entrance to Ramallah. The outlet reported that Abu Ali, who it said was married with five children, was suspected of running over a 20-year-old female Israeli soldier near the settlement of Kochav Ya’akov. Witnesses told the Palestinian news agency Wafa that police opened fire on his tires, causing him to crash into a metal bar before officers continued shooting at him. Wafa noted that the army sealed off the area and prevented Palestinian ambulances from reaching the scene.
Rising Casualties and Surging Settler Violence in Huwara
These fatalities pushed the total number of Palestinians killed by Israeli forces in 2022 to 206, with 154 of those deaths occurring in the West Bank and East Jerusalem—marking the deadliest year in the occupied territory since 2006. The escalating conflict has also seen a dramatic surge in settler violence, highlighted by an attack in the West Bank town of Huwara where 19-year-old Labib Dumaidi was shot in the heart.
Relatives stated that Dumaidi had sought refuge on the roof of his home while it was under assault from a group of more than 200 settlers who gathered in Huwara after midnight, shouting, dancing, and throwing stones at houses. Al Jazeera reported that resident Abderrahman Dmidi described how young people tried to defend their homes by throwing stones back at the crowd. Local store employees asserted that Israeli soldiers routinely turned a blind eye to the rampages. Thaer Qawareeq, an employee at a supermarket damaged during the assault, remarked that it’s clear that the settler militias are protected by the occupation’s soldiers.
Far-Right Threats and Regional Repercussions
Tensions in the West Bank have been further inflamed by rhetoric from high-ranking Israeli officials. Following the Hamas-led October 7 attack and subsequent military operations that killed at least 36,224 Palestinians in Gaza over eight months, Finance Minister Smotrich issued a threat regarding the West Bank.
International and civil rights organizations have sounded alarms over these statements. Rohan Talbot, director of advocacy and campaigns for Medical Aid for Palestinians, urged observers to take the threats seriously, warning that extremists intend to replicate the destruction of Gaza within the West Bank’s refugee camps and Area C communities. Meanwhile, Ibrahim Hooper, national communications director for the Council on American-Islamic Relations, stated that the far-right government’s targeting of vital civilian infrastructure aims to make life unbearable for the Palestinian people and to force their removal from the land of Palestine.
Political fallout has extended to international allies as well. Nabil Abu Rdeineh, spokesperson for Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, asserted that the United States bears substantial responsibility for the violence due to its diplomatic and military backing. Middle East Eye reported that Abu Rdeineh called on Washington to reconsider its positions, stating that the American administration bears a great responsibility for the Israeli occupation authorities’ continuous crimes against our people.
