Israeli Settler Kills Two Palestinian Brothers in Car-Ramming Attack near Nablus
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Two Palestinian brothers were killed in a car-ramming attack by an Israeli settler near the city of Nablus in the north of the occupied West Bank.
Mohammad and Muhannad Yousef Muteir, from Qalandia refugee camp in occupied Jerusalem al-Quds, were killed in the attack, said Zakaria Fayala, a spokesperson for the Jerusalem al-Quds Governorate, Wafa press reported.
Fayala said the two brothers were on the side of the road near the checkpoint fixing a puncture in one of the tires of their vehicle when an Israeli settler drove his vehicle into them, killing Mohammad and seriously injuring Muhannad.
Mohammad’s body was taken to a hospital in the nearby city of Nablus, while Muhannad, who was first said critically injured, was rushed to a hospital in occupied territories for medical treatment, before he was pronounced dead a short time later.
Imad Mutair, Mohammad and Muhannad’s cousin, said his two cousins were killed after being hit hard by a fast-driving Israeli settler.
Reacting to the atrocity, Hazem Qassem, a spokesman for the Gaza Strip-based Hamas Palestinian resistance movement, said, "The settlers are escalating their aggression against our people," adding that the formation of the new right-wing government in Israel has apparently emboldened settlers to ratchet up their crimes against Palestinians.
"This crime is a new episode in the series of Zionist terrorism under the protection of the occupation (regime's) police and army," the Hamas spokesman said, adding, "This crime must be answered by increasing the resistance in the West Bank."
He reiterated the need for further enhancement of Palestinians' "state of revolution and resistance" against the occupying regime across the occupied territories.
Israeli occupation soldiers and settlers have been noticeably escalating their attacks against Palestinian civilians in the West Bank and other areas, in an attempt to forcibly expel Palestinians from their lands and make way for expanding Israeli settlements.
Israeli forces have also been conducting overnight raids and killings in the northern occupied West Bank, mainly in the cities of Jenin and Nablus, where new groups of Palestinian resistance fighters have been formed.
Since the start of 2022, Israeli troops have killed more than 210 Palestinians, including more than 50 children, in the occupied West Bank and East al-Quds as well as the besieged Gaza Strip.
Earlier on Saturday, the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) described 2022 as the deadliest year for Palestinians since 2005, when the UN started to keep a tally of Palestinian fatalities.
The world body says Israeli forces have shot dead 19 Palestinians, including three children, in different incidents across the occupied territories between November 22 and December 11, 2022.
