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An AFP report detailed how some 100 to 150 Israeli settlers, including women and children with around 10 of them armed, set out from the Havat Gilad outpost and crossed fields near the Palestinian communities of Tell, Sarra and al-Junaid to commemorate two Israelis killed in the area the week before. The Palestinian Red Crescent said its crews in Nablus were treating a young man shot with live ammunition in the abdomen during an Israeli army and settler raid on the al-Junaid area. Clashes erupted with local residents, after which the army used tear gas and other means to disperse the crowds and extract the marchers.
The Israeli military stated that Palestinians in al-Junaid hurled rocks at both forces and settlers, prompting an Israeli civilian to fire warning shots into the air. Soldiers then acted to disperse the rioters and safely evacuate the settlers, the statement added. A Palestinian was shot after throwing rocks at troops, with forces apprehending one suspect and firing toward what they identified as the primary instigator, according to the military account.
The march took place exactly one week after a deadly gunfight in Tell that left two Israelis and four Palestinians dead, the Times of Israel reported. That earlier violence began when settlers raided the Palestinian village, drawing armed resistance before Israeli forces intervened. Some participants in the July 31 march also vandalized a cemetery in the Nablus region, local accounts cited by the newspaper indicated.
AFP noted that Israel has occupied the West Bank since 1967 and that more than 500,000 Israelis now live in settlements there that are deemed illegal under international law, while the territory is home to roughly three million Palestinians. The report added that violence across the West Bank has intensified markedly since the Gaza war began in October 2023. Rights monitors have recorded heightened settler activity and military operations in the intervening period.
The Red Crescent confirmed that its teams responded promptly to the shooting in al-Junaid on the outskirts of Nablus and that the wounded man remained under treatment. No immediate information was released on the victim’s age beyond the description of a young man or on his current medical status. The military said its response aimed at preventing further escalation while protecting the settlers moving through the zone.
Israeli media outlets observed that the march deliberately entered Area A of the West Bank, which falls under full Palestinian Authority civil and security control and where such settler movements are rare. The combination of escorted settler processions and local counter-demonstrations has produced repeated friction in recent months throughout the Nablus governorate. Authorities had not announced any arrests linked to the shooting as of late July 31.
