Israel prepares ‘extensive’ West Bank operation after deadly shooting near Tal

By Nathan Morley

Israel’s military says it is preparing an “extensive” operation in the occupied West Bank, after a shooting near the Palestinian village of Tal left six people dead.

Four Palestinians and two Israelis were killed. It is the deadliest single incident in the area in months.

Accounts of what happened differ sharply.

Palestinians told international media that villagers had confronted Jewish settlers who were attacking them, and that Israeli soldiers then arrived and opened fire, according to one eyewitness.

The Israeli military said it had responded to reports of an attack on hikers. It said armed individuals it described as “terrorists” took the weapon of a security guard, killed him, and were then shot dead by soldiers. A second Israeli, a soldier, was also killed. The three other Palestinians who died were reportedly members of the same family.

The circumstances of their deaths have not been independently confirmed.

The Israel Defence Forces said afterwards that it was preparing “extensive counterterrorism operational activity in the sector.”

Settler attacks on Palestinians and their property have risen sharply in the West Bank since the war in Gaza began, triggered by the Hamas-led attack on Israel on 7 October 2023.

Incursion into Al-Aqsa Mosque

The shooting comes days after thousands of Israeli settlers, accompanied by government ministers and under heavy police protection, entered the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound in Jerusalem’s Old City — a move that drew condemnation across the Middle East.

The Arab League said such incursions had become significantly more frequent in recent months, describing them as part of a wider effort to change arrangements governing the site.

The compound, revered by Muslims as Al-Haram Al-Sharif and by Jews as the Temple Mount, is among the most sensitive religious sites in the region. Under a decades-old arrangement, Muslims may pray there; non-Muslims may visit but not perform religious rites.

Listen to the report by Nathan Morley

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