Three adults and one minor were arrested on Wednesday, Aug. 21, in connection with a deadly Israeli settler rampage on the Palestinian village of Jit in the West Bank on Thursday, Aug. 15. The four suspects were arrested on suspicion of perpetrating “terrorist incidents” against Palestinians.
On Aug. 15, dozens of Israeli settlers set the village of Jit ablaze.
“This is a serious terrorist incident that included burning buildings and vehicles, throwing stones and throwing Molotov bottles,” Israel’s domestic security agency said in response to the arrests. “Also, a shooting that killed a Palestinian man and injured another.”
The people arrested have not been identified. Witnesses said that at least 100 masked Israeli settlers raided the village.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed after the attack that the rioters would be “apprehended and tried.”
Violence across the region has been on the rise since the Oct. 7 terrorist attack by Hamas in Israel.
The United Nations reported that nearly 1,200 Israeli settler attacks have been documented since Oct. 7. The agency said that the acts of violence have displaced nearly 1,600 Palestinians.
In recent months, the United States has pushed for Israel to address rising settler violence against Palestinians. The U.S. has also put sanctions on individuals and organizations linked to the violence.
