A man covers his face during clashes with Israeli troops after Israeli settlers attack Umm Safa village near Ramallah, in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, June 24, 2023. (Credit: REUTERS/Mohamad Torokman)
UMM SAFA, West Bank — A Palestinian militant opened fire at an Israeli checkpoint in the occupied West Bank Saturday, wounding a security guard before he was shot dead by forces at the scene, Israeli police said. Residents in a nearby Palestinian village said settlers set fire to local homes.
The Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigade, an armed group associated with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas’ Fatah party, claimed the gunman as one of its members. Official Palestinian news agency WAFA identified him as an 18-year-old from Kafr Aqab.
Police distributed a photo of an M-16 rifle they said was used by the gunman to carry out the shooting.
A few hours later, Israeli settlers torched at least two houses in the Palestinian village of Umm Safa near Ramallah, residents said. There were no immediate reports of casualties.
The Israeli military said one Israeli suspect had been arrested and that its forces used anti-riot measures to break up Palestinian stone throwing that erupted at the village.
Violence surged this week in the occupied West Bank, where for over a year the military has conducted regular sweeps leading to repeated clashes with Palestinian fighters amid a spate of Palestinian street attacks on Israelis.
The past few days saw deadly clashes in the city of Jenin, a fatal Palestinian shooting attack near a settlement, attacks on Palestinian villages by settlers and a rare Israeli air strike in the West Bank against militants.
White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan Friday encouraged more steps to restore calm between Israel and the Palestinians during a call with his Israeli counterpart, the White House said.
US-brokered peace talks between the Palestinians and Israel aimed at establishing a Palestinian state in the West Bank, East Jerusalem and Gaza, collapsed in 2014 and show no sign of revival.