At least four Palestinians and two Israelis were killed in a deadly shooting in the occupied West Bank on Saturday, marking the deadliest single incident in the territory in several months.
Conflicting accounts have emerged over how the violence unfolded in the northern village of Tal. Palestinian residents told the BBC that locals confronted a group of Jewish settlers allegedly attacking homes in the village before Israeli soldiers arrived and opened fire.
Israel’s military, however, said troops responded after receiving reports that Israeli hikers had come under attack.
According to the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), a Palestinian seized the weapon of a security guard, killed him, and was later shot dead by soldiers. The military said the remaining three Palestinians killed belonged to the same family.
A second Israeli, identified as a soldier, also lost his life during the incident.
The IDF later announced it was preparing for “extensive counterterrorism operational activity in the sector”.
Violence involving Israeli settlers and Palestinians has intensified across the West Bank since the Gaza war began following the Hamas-led attack on Israel on October 7, 2023.
Eyewitness Ahmed Zeidan told the BBC that the confrontation began early in the morning when residents of Tal rushed to stop around 30 settlers whom they said were attacking Palestinian homes.
He said physical clashes broke out in the presence of Israeli soldiers.
Essam Saifi, a local leader of the ruling Palestinian Authority’s Fatah movement, told Reuters that settlers opened fire before Israeli forces arrived and also began shooting.
Palestinian officials said several other Palestinians sustained injuries.
The IDF disputed those claims, insisting that Palestinians initiated the violence.
According to the military, soldiers were dispatched to Tal after reports that Israeli civilians hiking in the area had been attacked. It noted that the hike had not been coordinated with the military and that the location spans areas under varying levels of Palestinian Authority administration and Israeli security control.
The IDF said a security guard from a nearby settler outpost responded to the scene but had his firearm taken by a Palestinian, who then used it to fatally shoot the guard.
Soldiers subsequently “eliminated the terrorist who executed the terror attack”, the military said.
Maj Gen Avi Bluth, head of the army’s central command, said the gunman was one of four members of the same family who died “in the exchange of fire”.
Palestinian officials again reported that several others were wounded.
Two videos circulating on local media, though not independently verified, appear to capture parts of the confrontation.
One clip shows Palestinians facing Israeli soldiers and armed Israelis in civilian clothing as gunfire erupts while Israeli civilians, including children, watch from nearby. The footage also appears to show armed civilians pushing and kicking two Palestinian men.
A second video from another angle appears to show the two men attempting to seize weapons, with one apparently succeeding before multiple gunshots are heard as both he and Israeli troops appear to fire.
The IDF also confirmed that a 27-year-old Israeli soldier “fell during operational activity in the area of the village”, although the circumstances surrounding his death remain unclear.
Israel’s ambulance service said two other Israelis were injured.
The Palestinian foreign ministry said it “condemns in the strongest terms the massacre” in Tal.
It accused the Israeli government of enabling settler violence, saying “the escalation of settler terrorism is a direct consequence of the protection, political backing, and complete impunity granted by the Israeli government and occupation forces”.
“Official Israeli incitement continues to fuel and encourage these crimes, creating an environment in which settler violence flourishes without accountability,” it added.
An AFP journalist at the scene reported that Israeli forces established roadblocks and launched searches for additional suspects.
The IDF later said troops raided a hospital in Nablus, where they “apprehended two terrorists who took part in the shooting attack” after the suspects sought medical treatment.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu pledged to act “with full force against the terrorists and those who orchestrate and sponsor them”.
Following an emergency security meeting, Israeli authorities deployed additional forces to the area near the settlement of Havat Gilad.
In a joint statement, Netanyahu and Defence Minister Israel Katz announced that the home of the Palestinian gunman in Tal would be demolished while efforts to legalise unauthorised settler outposts and establish new ones would be accelerated.
Such outposts, often consisting of caravans erected without official approval, are regarded as illegal under both international law and Israeli law.
Opposition leader Yair Golan, who heads Israel’s Democrats Party and serves as a reserve major general in the IDF, criticised the move, describing the joint statement as “a clear intent to set the area ablaze”.
Fresh violence was later reported in nearby northern West Bank villages, where dozens of armed settlers and Palestinians clashed. Local medics said several Palestinians were wounded, including one person shot in the head in Farata.
Israel’s far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir called for harsh measures against the villages, saying they should be treated in the same way as Gaza.
“For every Jew murdered, the enemy must suffer the loss of land and homes,” he said.
While clashes between settlers and Palestinians frequently result in Palestinian casualties, the killing of Israelis by Palestinians has significantly heightened tensions across the West Bank.
According to the United Nations, 1,114 Palestinians have been killed in the West Bank since October 2023, with the majority killed by Israeli forces. At least 35 of those deaths were linked to settler attacks.
The UN also says 41 Israelis, including civilians and members of the security forces, have been killed in Palestinian attacks or during Israeli military operations in the West Bank since the Gaza conflict began.
Israel has established hundreds of settlements accommodating about 700,000 Jewish settlers across the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem since capturing the territories during the 1967 Middle East war.
Palestinians seek those areas, together with Gaza, as part of a future independent state. About 3.3 million Palestinians currently live alongside the settlements, which are considered illegal under international law.
