Israel wants to further expand the settlement of Eli in the occupied West Bank. In response to an attack that left dead and injured, around 1,000 new apartments are to be built there. Prime Minister Netanyahu said that was the “answer to terror”.
After a deadly attack near an Israeli settlement in the West Bank, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced that new apartments would be built there. 1,000 new housing units are planned in Eli, he said. “Our response to terrorism is to hit back hard and build up our country.”
Hundreds of settlers attacked a Palestinian village in the West Bank in retaliation for the attack that killed four. Several houses and 40 cars were set on fire in Turmus Ajja, residents said. The settlers retreated when the Israeli military moved in.
Restaurant and gas station shot at
According to Israeli military sources, two Palestinian attackers opened fire on Tuesday in a restaurant and at a gas station near Eli, killing four Israelis. An Israeli civilian shot dead one of the attackers at the scene, the other was killed by Israeli soldiers trying to escape. The militant Islamist group Hamas said the two attackers were among its members, but did not directly claim responsibility for the attack.
In response to the attack, the Israeli military deployed additional troops to the Palestinian Territory and announced the demolition of the houses of the two suspected perpetrators who were killed.
The expansion and creation of Israeli settlements in the West Bank are strongly condemned internationally. Many see this as an obstacle to peace in the Middle East, as the Palestinians claim the West Bank, East Jerusalem and the Gaza Strip as their desired future state. However, such a two-state solution has become a distant prospect in recent months.
Israel conducts many raids
Almost every day, the Israeli military carries out raids against suspected extremist networks in the West Bank, which repeatedly carry out attacks. This year alone more than 20 people died on the Israeli side and at least 130 Palestinians died. Just on Monday, during one of these raids, there was a fierce firefight between Palestinian extremists and Israeli soldiers in the Jenin refugee camp in the West Bank. The number of those killed has now risen to seven. According to the Palestinian authorities, a 15-year-old person succumbed to his injuries.