Three Palestinians killed by Israeli army during raid by settlers
Palestinian
vice-president Hussein Al-Sheikh has condemned the killing of three Palestinians by the Israeli army during a raid by
Israeli
settlers on the
West Bank
village of Kafr Malik on Wednesday.
Mr Al-Sheik posted on X: 'The Israeli government's behaviour and decisions are pushing the region toward an explosion. We call on the international community to urgently protect our Palestinian people.'
More than 100 settlers torched homes and cars and threw stones at residents of the town northeast of Ramallah. As residents of neighbouring villages attempted to intervene, Israeli troops opened fire.
The Palestinian Red Crescent said five Palestinians had also suffered gunshot wounds, with some in serious condition. Five Israeli settlers were detained and held in police custody for taking part in the attack.
READ MORE
The foreign ministry of Jordan, which ruled the West Bank from 1948-67, condemned the attack on Kafr Malik and argued that impunity incites settlers to carry out such assaults, according to Jordan's Petra news agency.
An Israeli military statement said dozens of Israelis set fire to property, and military and police forces were dispatched to the scene after receiving a report of ensuing violence that included an exchange of stone-throwing.
The military statement said several Palestinians opened fire and hurled rocks at the forces, who returned the fire. Five Israeli suspects were arrested. An Israeli army officer was lightly wounded.
A village of Crusader and Ottoman lineage, Kafr Malek is reported to have a population of about 2,900, according to the Palestinian bureau of statistics.
Since the 1967 Israeli occupation
, Kafr Malek's land has been confiscated for Israeli settlements and the village has been frequently targeted by settlers.
Earlier on Wednesday, masked settlers set a car on fire near Ramallah and threw stones at Palestinians at Asira Al-Qibliya village southwest of Nablus in the northern West Bank.
On Thursday, the Palestinian news agency Wafa reported that settlers gathered near the village of Al-Minya, near Bethlehem, and stoned passing vehicles without inflicting injuries or damage.
Yesh Din, an Israeli human rights organisation that works in Israel and the West Bank, states on its website: 'Incidents of violence by Israeli civilians against Palestinians and their property are a daily occurrence throughout the West Bank.'
Yesh Din says that while the Israeli public thinks this is perpetrated by a 'handful' of ideologically motivated extremists, 'In reality, this is a widespread practice involving many Israeli citizens and includes acts of violence, damage to property, takeover of Palestinian land, and other offenses.'
It argues that the attacks are 'part of a calculated strategy for dispossessing Palestinians of their land'.
Last week, Britain joined Australia, Norway, Canada and New Zealand by sanctioning Israeli settler leaders Itamar Ben-Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich for their 'repeated incitements of violence against Palestinian communities in the occupied West Bank. Israeli authorities called this move 'outrageous.' Mr Ben-Gvir is police minister and Mr Smotrich holds the finance portfolio.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Irish Times
a day ago
- Irish Times
Middle East in maps: Key territories in the current conflict
Israel Area: 22,000 sq km. Population: 9.5m. Prime minister: Binyamin Netanyahu. The State of Israel, founded as a homeland for Jewish people in 1948, is the strongest military power in the Middle East. It has occupied the Palestinian West Bank since 1967 and the Gaza Strip for much of that time. It has fought several wars. Though a 'cold peace' exists with Jordan and Egypt, the Arab-Israeli conflict has profoundly shaped politics in the Middle East. Israel's current war on the Gaza Strip followed an attack on October 7th, 2023 by the Palestinian group Hamas that killed 1,195 Israeli citizens and captured more than 250. Since then, the Gaza health ministry says Israel has killed more than 55,000 Palestinians in Gaza. Israel has gone to war with Hizbullah in Lebanon, invaded Syria and bombed Iran. Though supported by the United States, Israel's actions in Gaza have been widely condemned, and the Irish Government has joined an International Court of Justice case against Israel under the Genocide Convention. READ MORE Gaza and West Bank Gaza – Area: 365 sq km. Population: 2.1m. West Bank – Area: 5,860 sq km. Population: 3.2m. A 1947 UN resolution proposed dividing the then British-administered land of Palestine into Jewish and Arab states. Arabs did not accept the plan, and war ensued as soon as the state of Israel was declared. After decades of wars and paramilitary activity, Gaza and the West Bank are the remnants of those designated Arab territories. Israel occupied both areas in 1967, and 670,000 Israelis now live in West Bank settlements that are deemed illegal under international law. Israel withdrew from Gaza in 2005, and Hamas – a Sunni Muslim political and paramilitary group – won an election the following year and took power. When Hamas launched its surprise attack on Israel on October 7th, 2023, Israel declared war. That war has claimed tens of thousands of Palestinian lives, devastated Gaza and destabilised the Middle East. There has been a simultaneous crackdown in the West Bank, where Israel has extended its settlements and killed more than 900 Palestinians, according to the United Nations. Iran Area: 1.65m sq km. Population: 92m. Supreme leader: Ali Khamenei. Officially an Islamic republic since the 1979 revolution deposed its monarchy, Shia-Muslim-dominated Iran has in recent decades been the main agent of resistance to Israel's regional power. It supported Hamas in Gaza, Hizbullah in Lebanon, the Houthis in Yemen and militias in Syria and Iraq. This so-called 'Axis of Resistance' has been hugely weakened by the fall of the Assad regime in Syria, Israel's suppression of Hizbullah, and Israeli and US bombings of Iran's nuclear sites. Iran is not thought to have developed nuclear weapons yet. Iran is close to Russia and China and has diplomatic relations with Saudi Arabia and the European Union, though not the US. Its regime has faced international condemnation for its discrimination against woman and minorities, torture and arbitrary use of the death penalty. Qatar Area: 11,500 sq km. Population: 2.6m. Emir: Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani. The authoritarian regime has complicated relations with other countries in the region but is on speaking terms with most of them. Qatar has hosted (unsuccessful) peace talks between Israel and Hamas. Its state-owned media group Al Jazeera is influential across and beyond the Arab world. Qatar is home to the Middle East's largest US airbase, which Iran attacked this week in response to US bombing of Iranian nuclear sites. Lebanon Area: 10,500 sq km. Population: 5.8m. President: Joseph Aoun. One of the Middle East's democracies, Lebanon is economically poor and militarily weak, and has a higher number of refugees per capita than any country in the world. The Shia-Muslim Hizbullah group, dedicated to the destruction of Israel, controls southern Lebanon through a quasi-army that has been funded and supported by Iran. After the Hamas attack on Israel on October 7th, 2023, Hizbullah launched its own rocket assault on Israel. In response, Israel invaded Lebanon and bombed its capital, Beirut. In late 2024, Israel severely disabled Hizbullah as a fighting force, wiping out the group's leadership through targeted bombing and an audacious attack on thousands of individuals, 32 of whom died, using exploding pagers. It has dismantled much of Hizbullah's military infrastructure, and an uneasy ceasefire remains in place. Saudi Arabia Area: 2.1m sq km. Population: 33.3m. Crown prince: Mohammed bin Salman Al Saud. The largest country in the Middle East, Saudi Arabia is also among the richest, wielding great power as the world's second biggest oil producer. A Sunni Muslim-majority country, Saudi Arabia is close to the US and has strained but peaceful relations with Shia-dominated Iran. The Hamas attack on Israel on October 7th, 2023, thwarted US-led talks that would have seen Saudi Arabia officially recognise Israel. Saudi Arabia has one of the world's worst human rights records. Syria Area: 185,000 sq km. Population: 24m. President: Ahmed al-Sharaa. The Assad family – backed by Iran and Russia – ruled Syria for half a century and fought a bloody civil war from 2011 to 2024. Bashar al-Assad fled to Russia in December 2024, ceding the country to Islamist rebels. His fall has weakened not only Syria's own military heft, but also Iran's power in the Middle East (Syria is a Shia-majority country). Israel took immediate advantage by occupying a buffer zone around the Golan Heights. The regime change has disabled Syria as a regional power. Countries including the US, EU, Qatar and Iraq are lifting sanctions and engaging warily with the new regime. Yemen Area: 455,000 sq km. Population: 40m. Presidential leadership council chairman: Rashad al-Alimi. Ruined by civil war, poverty and a humanitarian crisis, Yemen is the opposite of a superpower. Yet it is influential due to its location and as the base of the Houthis – a Shia rebel group supported by Iran. The Houthis, who oppose both the Yemeni government and Israel's war on Gaza, control western Yemen near the mouth of the Red Sea. From there they have attacked ships bound for Israel, reducing use of the Suez Canal and dealing a blow to world trade. The Houthis in turn have been subject to missile attacks by the US. The two announced a ceasefire in May, but after the US bombed Iran's nuclear sites on June 22nd, the Houthis declared the ceasefire over.
Irish Times
2 days ago
- Irish Times
Three Palestinians killed by Israeli army during raid by settlers
Palestinian vice-president Hussein Al-Sheikh has condemned the killing of three Palestinians by the Israeli army during a raid by Israeli settlers on the West Bank village of Kafr Malik on Wednesday. Mr Al-Sheik posted on X: 'The Israeli government's behaviour and decisions are pushing the region toward an explosion. We call on the international community to urgently protect our Palestinian people.' More than 100 settlers torched homes and cars and threw stones at residents of the town northeast of Ramallah. As residents of neighbouring villages attempted to intervene, Israeli troops opened fire. The Palestinian Red Crescent said five Palestinians had also suffered gunshot wounds, with some in serious condition. Five Israeli settlers were detained and held in police custody for taking part in the attack. READ MORE The foreign ministry of Jordan, which ruled the West Bank from 1948-67, condemned the attack on Kafr Malik and argued that impunity incites settlers to carry out such assaults, according to Jordan's Petra news agency. An Israeli military statement said dozens of Israelis set fire to property, and military and police forces were dispatched to the scene after receiving a report of ensuing violence that included an exchange of stone-throwing. The military statement said several Palestinians opened fire and hurled rocks at the forces, who returned the fire. Five Israeli suspects were arrested. An Israeli army officer was lightly wounded. A village of Crusader and Ottoman lineage, Kafr Malek is reported to have a population of about 2,900, according to the Palestinian bureau of statistics. Since the 1967 Israeli occupation , Kafr Malek's land has been confiscated for Israeli settlements and the village has been frequently targeted by settlers. Earlier on Wednesday, masked settlers set a car on fire near Ramallah and threw stones at Palestinians at Asira Al-Qibliya village southwest of Nablus in the northern West Bank. On Thursday, the Palestinian news agency Wafa reported that settlers gathered near the village of Al-Minya, near Bethlehem, and stoned passing vehicles without inflicting injuries or damage. Yesh Din, an Israeli human rights organisation that works in Israel and the West Bank, states on its website: 'Incidents of violence by Israeli civilians against Palestinians and their property are a daily occurrence throughout the West Bank.' Yesh Din says that while the Israeli public thinks this is perpetrated by a 'handful' of ideologically motivated extremists, 'In reality, this is a widespread practice involving many Israeli citizens and includes acts of violence, damage to property, takeover of Palestinian land, and other offenses.' It argues that the attacks are 'part of a calculated strategy for dispossessing Palestinians of their land'. Last week, Britain joined Australia, Norway, Canada and New Zealand by sanctioning Israeli settler leaders Itamar Ben-Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich for their 'repeated incitements of violence against Palestinian communities in the occupied West Bank. Israeli authorities called this move 'outrageous.' Mr Ben-Gvir is police minister and Mr Smotrich holds the finance portfolio.
The Irish Sun
2 days ago
- The Irish Sun
Longest-serving death row inmate Richard Jordan executed after nearly 50yrs utters chilling last words with final breath
THE longest-serving death row inmate uttered a chilling set of last words with his dying breath. Richard Jordan, 79, spent almost five decades 5 Richard Jordan, 79, was executed after almost five decades on death row Credit: AFP 5 Jordan kidnapped and murdered Edwina Marter after speaking to her husband on the phone Credit: Handout 5 Jordan was strapped to a bed and administered a lethal injection Credit: Getty Jordan kidnapped and killed a bank loan officer's wife called Edwina Marter in a violent ransom plot in 1976. The Vietnam veteran, who suffered from PTSD, was denied his final appeals by the Supreme Court . The execution at at the Mississippi State Penitentiary in Parchman began at 6pm, according to prison officials. Jordan lay on the gurney with his mouth slightly ajar and took several deep gulps of air before becoming still. read more news The time of death was given as 6:16 p.m. When given the opportunity to make a final statement on Wednesday, he said: "First I would like to thank everyone for a humane way of doing this. I want to apologize to the victims family ." Jordan's wife Marsha and his lawyer Krissy Nobile were at the execution, and dabbed their eyes several times as it took place. He them both and asked for forgiveness. Most read in The US Sun His final words were: "I will see you on the other side, all of you." Jordan was one of several on the state's death row who had attempted to sue over its three-drug execution protocol - which he claimed is inhumane. I've stared into eyes of hundreds of death row inmates in their final moments - why I believe no one deserves to die During a news conference after the execution, Keith Degruy, a spokesperson for Marter's family, read a statement on behalf of her Charles and their two sons - who didn't attend the execution. It read: "Nothing will bring back our mom, sister and our friend. Nothing can ever change what Jordan took from us 49 years ago. "Jordan tried desperately to change his ruling so he can simply die in prison. We never had an option." Mississippi Supreme Court records show that in January 1976, Jordan called the Gulf National Bank in Gulfport and asked to speak with a loan officer. After being given a name - Charles Marter - as someone who could speak to him, Jordan looked up his home address. He went round to the house where he found Edwina and kidnapped her, records show. 5 Jordan had attempted to sue the state over its three-drug injection policy 5 Death row inmates usually have the option to choose the electric chair instead According to court records, Jordan took her to a forest and fatally shot her before calling her husband, claiming she was safe and demanding $25,000. Jordan's execution was just the third in the state in the last 10 years - with the last one in December 2022. However, a man was executed in Florida the day before Jordan. Eric Marter, 11 when his mother was killed, said that other family members were planning on attending the execution. He said: "It should have happened a long time ago. "I'm not really interested in giving him the benefit of the doubt. "He needs to be punished." Jordan was one of 22 people sentenced in the 1970s who were still on death row at the beginning of this year, according to the Death Penalty Information Center. His execution ended a decades of wrangling in the courts which encompassed four trials and numerous appeals. On Monday, the Supreme Court rejected a petition that argued he was denied due process rights. His lawyer, Krissy Nobile, said: "He was never given what for a long time the law has entitled him to, which is a mental health professional that is independent of the prosecution and can assist his defense." She claimed that his jury never got to hear about his Vietnam experiences.
