Huwara rampage
On 26 February 2023, hundreds of Israeli settlers went on a violent late-night rampage in Huwara and other Palestinian villages in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, leaving one civilian dead and 100 other Palestinians injured, four critically, and the town ablaze. It was the worst attack stemming from Israeli settler violence in the northern West Bank in decades.
| Huwara rampage | |
|---|---|
| Part of the Israeli–Palestinian conflict | |
A car set on fire by settlers | |
| Location | Huwara |
| Date | 26 February 2023 (UTC+02:00) |
| Target | Local Palestinian residents |
Attack type | Rioting, street violence, vandalism, arson |
| Deaths | 1 |
| Injured | 100+ |
| Perpetrator | Israeli settlers |
Israeli soldiers were in the area while the rampage by the settlers unfolded and did not intervene. The rampage was called a pogrom by an Israeli commander in charge of the area. The attack followed the deadly shooting of two Israeli settlers the same day by an unidentified attacker in the area. The same day, Israeli and Palestinian officials issued a joint declaration in Aqaba, Jordan to counter the recent round of Israeli–Palestinian violence.
In the rampage's aftermath, Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, a settler leader in charge of the administration of the West Bank, called for Huwara to be "wiped out" by the Israeli army. Condemnations from the United States, European Union, and Arab countries led to Smotrich retracting his comments and claiming they were said in the heat of the moment.