Palestinian stabbed to death by Israeli settler in West Bank

RAMALLAH, Palestine (AA) – A Palestinian civilian was fatally stabbed by an Israeli settler on Tuesday in the occupied West Bank, the Health Ministry said.

The ministry identified the victim as Ali Hassan Harb, 27, who lost his life in Iskaka town in Salfit province.

Harb “succumbed to a fatal stabbing to the heart by an Israeli settler,” the ministry added.

There was no comment from Israeli authorities on the incident.

Muayyad Shaaban, the head of a local anti-settlement committee, said the incident took place on a piece of private Palestinian-owned land that settlers are trying to seize.

“A group of young Palestinians were defending their land when settlers from the settlement of Taffouh established an outpost on it,” Shaaban told Anadolu Agency.

He said Palestinian youths “destroyed a pergola set up by settlers, but they were attacked by Israeli army soldiers, while settlers attacked Harb, who was alone. He was stabbed directly in the heart.”

The incident is “a continuation of the extremist right-wing racist policy sponsored by the Naftali Bennett government,” he added. “The settler attacks are no longer individual acts. They are organized and protected by the army.”