(NEWSER) – Israel’s army said Saturday the body of a missing Israeli teen was found in the West Bank after he was killed in a “terrorist attack,” as violence escalated across the Israeli-occupied territory where tensions have simmered for months.
The disappearance of 14-year-old Binyamin Achimair sparked a large attack by Israeli settlers on a Palestinian village on Friday and Saturday, reports the AP. On Friday, one Palestinian man was killed and 25 others were wounded in the attack on the village of Mughayyir, Palestinian health officials said. Israeli troops on Saturday delayed the ambulance carrying 26-year-old’s body for several hours, witnesses said. Dozens of settlers returned to the village’s outskirts on Saturday, burning two homes and several cars. The Palestinian Health Ministry said three people from the village were injured, one critically.
In the nearby village of Douma, Israeli settlers set fire to several homes, according to Wafa, the official Palestinian news agency. The Palestinian Red Crescent said six people were injured by gunfire but did not say who fired. Since the war began, Hamas has been trying to ignite other fronts, including the West Bank, in hopes of exerting more pressure on Israel. Such efforts have largely failed, though more than 460 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli fire in the West Bank since Oct. 7, most in clashes sparked by army raids but some by vigilante settlers.