Israel Deploys Troops Across West Bank After 6 Killed in Clashes/ Newslooks/ WASHINGTON/ J. Mansour/ Israel deployed additional troops across the occupied West Bank after violence left four Palestinians and two Israeli soldiers dead near Nablus. The circumstances of the initial confrontation remain disputed, while Israeli forces launched raids and prepared for an extensive operation. Human-rights organizations warned that calls for retaliation and growing settler violence could trigger further attacks against Palestinian communities.
Quick Look
- Four Palestinians and two Israeli soldiers were killed in Friday’s violence.
- One Israeli killed was also a settler serving in a local defense squad.
- Two other Israelis and four Palestinians were wounded.
- Israel deployed additional troops and announced a manhunt.
- Israeli forces arrested two Palestinians during a raid in Nablus.
- Netanyahu and Defense Minister Israel Katz called for stronger military measures.
- Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich proposed evacuating several Palestinian villages.
- B’Tselem warned that the violence could spread further.
- The exact circumstances of the confrontation in Tell remain unclear.
- Videos showed armed men confronting Palestinians and Israeli forces later firing at people on the ground.
- The Israeli military did not explain why the other Palestinian men were killed.
- Five villages around Nablus were reportedly attacked by settlers Friday.
- Palestinian officials say 87 Palestinians have been killed in the West Bank in 2026.
- More than 700,000 Israeli settlers live in the West Bank and east Jerusalem.
Deep Look
Israel Deploys Troops Across Occupied West Bank
NABLUS, West Bank — Israel deployed troops widely across the occupied West Bank on Friday after a confrontation near Nablus triggered violence that killed four Palestinian villagers and two Israeli soldiers.
The Israeli military said one of the soldiers was also a settler serving in a local defense unit.
Two additional Israelis and four Palestinians were wounded, according to health officials.
Israel said it was preparing for an “extensive” counterterrorism operation and conducting a manhunt for Palestinians suspected of attacking Israelis.
Israeli Forces Raid Nablus
The military said it detained two people during a raid in Nablus.
Additional forces were sent to the northern West Bank as nearby Palestinian villages faced lockdowns and fears grew about further military and settler attacks.
Army chief Eyal Zamir later confirmed that reinforcements were being deployed.
Netanyahu Calls for Stronger Measures
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Israel Katz called for additional troops and punitive measures against Tell, the village where the initial confrontation occurred.
They proposed demolishing the homes of those accused of involvement, confiscating weapons and revoking residents’ work permits.
“The security forces must be allowed to act freely and with full force against terrorism,” Netanyahu and Katz said in a joint statement.
The accused have not been publicly tried or convicted.
Smotrich Calls for Village Evacuations
Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich called for even broader military action.
He said Tell, Iraq Burin and Beit Furik “need to look exactly like the refugee camps in Nablus and Tulkarm.”
Smotrich was referring to an Israeli demolition campaign that displaced tens of thousands of Palestinians in the West Bank during 2025.
“It is necessary to evacuate the population there for their protection and to clear these villages of terrorist infrastructure,” Smotrich said. “A sharp, determined, and unequivocal military action is required here and now.”
B’Tselem Warns Violence Could Spread
Israeli human-rights organization B’Tselem warned that armed settlers and soldiers were gathering near several Palestinian cities.
“Israeli violence is spreading across the West Bank, fueled by Israeli politicians openly calling for revenge,” Executive Director Yuli Novak said.
“We know where this leads. Millions of Palestinians are now completely exposed to further attacks, with no one protecting them.”
Circumstances of Initial Clash Remain Unclear
The precise sequence of events in Tell remains disputed.
Israeli media reports and Palestinian local officials indicated that settlers entered the village and were confronted by residents who feared an attack.
Tell is in Area B, a designation established under the 1993 Oslo Accords. Israelis are prohibited from entering the village.
According to the Israeli military, a Palestinian resident took a weapon from one of the settlers and opened fire, killing 32-year-old Benayahu Mellet.
Mellet worked as a security guard at a nearby settlement.
Video Shows Armed Confrontation
A video confirmed by the Israeli military showed two armed men in civilian clothing and at least one Israeli soldier aiming their weapons toward Palestinians gathered in a field.
The two armed civilians later ran toward several Palestinian residents with their guns drawn.
The Palestinians appeared to push them back, disarm one of the men and then open fire.
The video was shared online by the military correspondent for Israel’s Army Radio.
Military Fires at Palestinians on Ground
The Israeli military said troops killed the Palestinian who took the settler’s weapon, maintaining that he was armed when he was shot.
Another video published by Israeli media and confirmed by the military showed Israeli forces firing toward Palestinians who were already on the ground in the same field.
More than a dozen gunshots could be heard in the recording, which lasted less than one minute.
The military said the suspected shooter was among those killed. It did not answer questions about why the other Palestinian men were shot or how much time passed between the original confrontation and their deaths.
The four Palestinians were related.
Settler Leader Demands Broad Operation
Yossi Dagan, head of the settler-affiliated Samaria Regional Council, demanded a wider crackdown.
“We demand an iron fist and for the government to carry out a wide military operation against the Palestinian Authority and against Hamas,” Dagan said in a video.
Israel has not publicly demonstrated in the source material that the Palestinian Authority or Hamas directed the Tell confrontation.
Settlers Reportedly Attack Five Villages
Five Palestinian villages surrounding Nablus were attacked by Israeli settlers Friday, according to the Palestinian news agency WAFA.
The Nablus area has become one of the most volatile sections of the West Bank.
New settlements and at least nine agricultural outposts are located in the surrounding area, where settler attacks, military raids and confrontations occur frequently.
Palestinians and human-rights groups have documented incidents involving armed settlers entering villages, stealing livestock, setting fires and defacing mosques.
Palestinian Death Toll Reaches 87
The Palestinian Health Ministry said 87 Palestinians have been killed in occupied West Bank governorates since the beginning of 2026.
The ministry attributed 21 of those deaths to Israeli settlers.
Israeli fatalities have repeatedly been followed by retaliatory attacks against nearby Palestinian communities, sometimes described as “price tag” attacks.
Earlier Killing Triggered Wave of Attacks
A similar pattern followed the March 21 death of 18-year-old Yehuda Sherman.
Sherman was killed when a Palestinian vehicle struck his all-terrain vehicle near Beit Imrin.
Smotrich and other senior politicians attended his funeral and called for vengeance.
Over the following two days, the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs documented 32 settler attacks affecting 30 Palestinian villages and communities.
Approximately one-third occurred near Nablus.
OCHA said settlers burned homes and vehicles, damaged property and assaulted residents, injuring at least 32 Palestinians.
Settlement Expansion Fuels Tensions
Palestinians have faced increasing violence as Israel’s government, which includes influential settler leaders and supporters, has overseen a rapid expansion of settlements.
The international community overwhelmingly considers Israeli settlements in the occupied territories illegal and an obstacle to peace.
More than 700,000 Israelis live in the occupied West Bank and east Jerusalem.
Israel captured both territories in 1967. Palestinians seek them, along with the Gaza Strip, for an independent state.
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