Six Palestinians wounded in West Bank firebomb attack; Jewish extremists suspected
JERUSALEM — Six Palestinians have been wounded in a suspected firebomb attack by Jewish extremists in the West Bank, The Israeli military said.
The six were traveling in a taxi Thursday night when the firebomb was allegedly thrown into the car. The military suspects Jewish extremists to be behind the attack.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu condemned the firebombing, saying Israel “will do everything to catch those responsible and bring them to justice.”
Extremist Israeli settlers often attack Palestinians and their property as part of a campaign they call the “price tag,” which is meant to retaliate for either army action against settlers or Palestinian attacks. Several more firebombs were hurled earlier Thursday toward settler vehicles in the West Bank.
The Israeli military says it is still searching for the culprits.
In the United States, state department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland condemned the “heinous” attack, noting that the Israeli government had pledged to bring the perpetrators to justice.
“We look to Israeli law enforcement officials to do so expeditiously,” she said in a statement. “We urge all parties to avoid any actions that could lead to an escalation of violence.”
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Jerusalem lynch, dozens of Jewish youths attack 3 Palestinians
Police are investigating an attack on three Arab youth, believed to be perpetrated by dozens of Jewish youth, near Jerusalem’s Zion Square.
The attack Thursday night is being described in the Israeli media as a “lynch situation” by eyewitnesses.
“When one of the Arab teenagers fell to the floor, the teenagers continued to hit him in the head, he lost consciousness, his eyes rolled, his angled head twitched, and then those who were kicking him fled and the rest gathered in a circle around, with some still shouting with hate in their eyes,” an eyewitness wrote on Facebook, according to The Jerusalem Post.
The youths, reportedly between the ages of 15-20, allegedly shouted “Death to the Arabs” and other racial slurs.
The Jewish teenagers apparently attacked the group of Arabs without provocation, saying previously that they “wanted to beat up an Arab,” the unnamed eyewitness also reportedly wrote.
Amir Edri, a Magen David Adom paramedic from their intensive care division said that after 10 minutes of intensive CPR, the victim of “about 20 years old” was transferred to Hadassah University Hospital in Ein Karem, reported The Jerusalem Post.
On Friday he was reportedly still on a respirator but was not seen at that point as having lasting brain damage, Edri told the media.
Jerusalem police spokesman Shmuel Ben Ruby said police are checking into the background of the story and that a special team has been appointed to investigate the incident.
“The area is under video surveillance we are checking the cameras,” Ben Ruby said, reported Israeli media. "We will know what happened after we check the cameras."
Jewish settlers spray toxic substance in Palestinian grazing fields, kill herd of sheep
Jewish settlers sprayed toxic substance in Palestinian grazing fields near the town of Yatta, southern al-Khalil, causing the death of a herd of sheep.
The coordinator of the popular committees against the wall and settlement in Yatta, Ratib Al-Jabour, asserted that the herd of sheep, which belonged to Jihad Noajah, had died after grazing in wild herbs, which were sprayed with toxic substances by settlers from Susiya settlement to the southeast of Yatta.
Meanwhile, the head of Wadi al-Maleh village council, Aref Daraghmeh, stated that the Israeli occupation authorities (IOA) have ordered Palestinian Bedouins in Wadi al-Maleh in the Jordan Valley to pay excessive fines of up to 15 thousand shekels to retrieve their cattle confiscated a few days ago.
He added that the residents lost numbers of their cows which died during the confiscation raid while others were still held by the IOA even after paying the fines.
