JERUSALEM. The wave of violence continues in Occupied West Bank after a 27-year-old American-Israeli driver was killed by Palestinians in a shooting near Jericho on Monday evening. On Sunday evening, dozens of Israeli settlers attacked the Palestinian city of Hawara, killing one Palestinian and setting fire to Palestinian homes and cars in retaliation for the killing of two Israeli brothers near Nablus earlier in the day.

A statement from the State Department on Monday said: “We express our condolences to the families of all victims and their loved ones. We also want to condemn indiscriminate settler violence against Palestinian citizens.”

TV footage from the streets of Hawara showed dozens of burnt cars and damaged two-story houses. In a social media video authenticated by the US network NBC, Israeli settlers are seen praying around a burning Palestinian building.

The Palestinian Health Ministry said that during the attack on Hawara, Israeli settlers shot at a 37-year-old Palestinian who was trying to close the door of his residence, pleading with the settlers to leave peacefully. According to eyewitnesses, the settlers refused to show mercy and started shooting, while there were also soldiers in their ranks. “As far as we know, neither Israeli soldiers nor border guards were involved in the unrest in Hawar,” a military spokesman said.

Israeli attack on the Palestinian city of Hawara after the death of an Israeli-American as a result of Palestinian fire near Jericho.

Wanted

As a result of the mob attack, two more residents of the Palestinian town were injured, one with a knife and the other with iron rods. On Monday, the Israeli army announced it was beefing up its forces in the Jericho area with hundreds of additional men and women as part of a manhunt aimed at identifying those responsible for the killings of two settlers on Sunday and US-Israel on Monday.

Israeli authorities yesterday released eight suspects who had been arrested and detained in connection with attacks on Hawara and other villages in the Nablus and Jericho region, which involved more than 400 settlers. The Palestinian Authority estimates that over the past three days, 390 Palestinians have been injured, 30 houses have been set on fire and 100 vehicles have been burned by settlers.

In a message Sunday, Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu called the killing of two settlers on Sunday a tragedy but warned against any show of complacency. Zvika Vogel, MP for the ruling coalition’s ultra-nationalist Jewish Power Party, said: “I find what happened in Hawar to be gratifying. I would like every village that produces terrorists to be burned down.” The attack in Hawara coincided with Jordan-hosted talks aimed at reducing tensions in the occupied territories ahead of the holy month of Ramadan. At a meeting Sunday in Aqaba, Israeli officials announced that the government would suspend all discussions on new settlements for the next four months and suspend issuance of new settlement permits for six months. The government’s commitment has already been questioned by members of the ruling coalition close to the settler movement.