A West Bank shooting in Tal has left four Palestinians and two Israelis dead, making it the deadliest single incident in the area in months. The violence unfolded in the northern village as Israeli and Palestinian officials offered sharply different versions of how the confrontation began and who opened fire first.
Palestinians who spoke to the BBC said residents moved to confront Jewish settlers who were attacking them. An eyewitness said Israeli soldiers then arrived and began shooting. Israel’s military said it had responded to reports that hikers had been attacked. In its account, a security guard’s weapon was taken, a Palestinian used it to kill him, and soldiers then killed the attacker. The Israel Defense Forces later said it was preparing for extensive counterterrorism activity in the area.
Ahmed Zeidan, an eyewitness, said the incident began early in the morning when people in Tal rushed to face about 30 settlers who were attacking Palestinian homes. He said close-range clashes broke out while Israeli soldiers were present. Essam Saifi, a local Fatah leader, told Reuters that settlers opened fire before Israeli forces arrived and also began shooting. Palestinian officials said several other Palestinians were wounded.
The military said soldiers went to Tal after a report of an attack on Israeli civilians who were hiking in the area. Part of the area falls under full Palestinian Authority control, while another part is under Palestinian Authority administrative control and Israeli security control. The military said the hike had not been coordinated with it. It also said a security guard from a nearby settler outpost had gone to the scene and had his gun taken by a Palestinian, who then used it against Israelis before soldiers killed him. The head of the army’s central command, Maj Gen Avi Bluth, said one of the four Palestinians killed was a member of the same family as the others killed in the exchange of fire.
Video clips widely shared by local media, but not independently verified, appear to show a tense confrontation between Palestinians and Israeli soldiers and armed Israelis in civilian clothes. In one clip, gunfire is heard as Israeli civilians, including children, watch. Armed Israelis then push and kick two Palestinian men. A second video from a different angle appears to show both men trying to grab guns, with one succeeding before more gunshots follow as troops respond. The IDF also said a 27-year-old soldier was killed during operational activity in the village, though the circumstances remain unclear. Israel’s ambulance service said two Israelis were wounded.
