A 20 year old Israeli settler died on Tuesday morning after being stabbed by a Palestinian man at the Tapuah junction, near the city of Nablus, in the West Bank.
According to eyewitnesses, the attacker first stabbed the Israeli and then shot him at close range with a weapon, before turning the fire on nearby border police. Sources added that he was shot and wounded before being arrested by Israeli police forces.
The Israeli was declared dead at the scene despite paramedics’ attempts to resuscitate him.
Gershon Mesika, Shomron Regional Council head condemned the attack and pointed the finger of blame towards the Israeli government.
“This murder is a direct result of the impotence in the face of rock-throwing, the removal of roadblocks, and the continued treatment of terror attacks as ‘disorderly conduct’, Mesika told the press at the scene of the violence.
“The IDF and security establishment must internalize the fact that terror kills. The government has to get with the programme and acknowledge that terrorism is terrorism”.
Israel’s settlements are considered illegal under international law, but Israel disputes this.
Also on Tuesday, an Israeli airstrike killed one Palestinian man and injured another in the Gaza Strip.
The Israeli military confirmed it had carried out the attack.
This airstrike marks the first airstrike by Israeli forces on Palestinian citizens since a ceasefire was declared after an eight day war in November.
Israel's army radio said it was a targeted attack directed against a suspected member of Al-Qaeda.
