Palestinian resistance movements have hailed the shooting operation against extremist settlers outside an illegal settlement outpost in the northern part of the occupied West Bank, stating that the incident is a natural response to the crimes being committed by Israel on a daily basis.
The attack took place along the road just outside the illegal Homesh outpost, which sits west of the occupied West Bank city of Nablus and north of Shavei Shomron settlment, on Thursday night. No one has claimed responsibility for the attack.
One Israeli man was fatally wounded by gunfire, and another two were slightly hurt by shards of flying glass, according to medics.
All three were apparently students at a religious school on the nearby hilltop. The fatality of the shooting was later named as 25-year-old Yehudah Dimentman.
“We congratulate the heroic operation in Nablus against the occupation forces and the murderous settlers, as it is in line with the Palestinian nation’s all-out struggle,” Hamas spokesman Hazem Qasim said in a statement.
“The operation proves yet again that our heroic people in the West Bank will continue their legitimate struggle until they expel the occupying regime from the entire Palestinian territories and wipe out settlers,” he added.
“The spirit of resistance and sacrifice, which prevails across West Bank cities, is the main guarantor of our people’s victory. It will help them arrive at their goals of liberating the homeland and repatriating the displaced,” Qasim pointed out.
The Islamic Jihad resistance movement also lauded the "heroic operation" in the West Bank.
“We bless the heroic operation carried out by heroic resistance fighters from among our people, which came as a natural response to the crimes of the occupying soldiers and settlers,” Tariq Izz al-Din, a spokesperson for the movement, said.
He added, “The resistance front cannot sit idly by in light of the terrorism of occupation forces against imprisoned Palestinian men and women, as well as against Palestinian minors. The crimes of occupiers will be responded anywhere.”
“The operation confirms the strength and dynamism of the resistance front, despite all measures taken by the occupying regime to persecute and arrest its forces. The resistance will move forward, and will have influence on all areas,” Izz al-Din pointed out.
Moreover, the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine hailed the shooting.
“What happened near Nablus is a statement that our people will not submit to the occupation. The message of the cities of the West Bank is that we will address the occupation in the language of bullets,” senior PFLP official Hani al-Thawabta said.
The Thursday night incident took place amid an increase in settler violence against Palestinians.
Dozens of extremist Israeli settlers raided Qaryout village, located 28 kilometers (17 miles) southeast of Nablus, early on Friday, injuring several Palestinians and causing material damage.
Ghassan Daghlas, who monitors Israeli settlement activities in the northern West Bank, said the settlers broke into many homes in the town, and assaulted local families.
Scores of Palestinians were injured in the process, who were moved to several hospitals in Nablus.
Israel occupied the West Bank and the Gaza Strip — territories the Palestinians want for a future state — during the six-day Arab-Israeli war in 1967. It later had to withdraw from Gaza.
More than 600,000 Israelis live in over 230 settlements built since the 1967 occupation of the Palestinian territories of the West Bank. All the settlements are illegal under international law. The United Nations Security Council has condemned the settlement activities in several resolutions.