(CNN) — The Israeli military began preparations for a large-scale operation in the occupied West Bank on Friday after four Palestinians and two Israeli soldiers were killed in clashes there.
The military said a group of settlers entered an area of the West Bank restricted to Israeli civilians Friday for an “unauthorized and uncoordinated hike.” As the group approached the Palestinian village of Tell, clashes broke out between the settlers and residents of the village.
In the ensuing gunfire, four Palestinians and two Israeli soldiers – one of whom was also a settler – were killed, part of a surge of violence across the West Bank.
Far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich called for the demolition of Palestinian villages in the area in response to the killings.
“The population must be evacuated for its own protection, and these villages must be cleared of terrorist infrastructure and terrorists in order to restore deterrence and security to the area,” he said Friday.
Video of the incident shows soldiers and armed Israeli settlers appearing to force Palestinians from the area, with calls for “revenge” in Hebrew heard in the background. An armed settler approaches two Palestinian men, apparently trying to use his rifle to push them away. One of the Palestinians can be seen grabbing the strap of the weapon.
Several seconds later, after the video refocuses on the incident, one of the Palestinian men is seen holding the weapon. The sound of at least a dozen shots rings out from what appear to be several different locations.
The military said the Palestinian man took the weapon from a security officer from the nearby Havat Gilad settlement. The officer was killed in the incident, it said. The military said a second soldier was also killed during the incident. It is not clear if the incident captured in the video shows the precise moment the officers were killed.
The Palestinian Ministry of Health said the four Palestinians who were killed were shot by Israeli soldiers.
Walid Zeiden, leader of the Tell village committee, said they were all members of the same family, including two brothers and two cousins. At least three others were wounded by Israeli gunfire, the health ministry added.
The UN called for “urgent action” to end the escalating violence in the West Bank amid “unabated” Israeli settler attacks against Palestinian communities.
“Israel must take immediate steps to prevent settler violence, protect Palestinian communities, and ensure that those responsible for attacks are held accountable,” said Ramiz Alakbarov, the UN’s Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process, in a statement. “Palestinians must unequivocally reject violence and incitement and take immediate steps to prevent attacks against Israelis.”
The Palestinian Authority condemned the settler attacks and criticized Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Israel Katz for “accelerating the establishment and legalization of colonial outposts” and reinforcing the IDF’s presence in the West Bank. It also called on the US to intervene and “compel Israel to halt its escalation and the crimes committed by Israeli colonists,” according to Palestinian news agency WAFA.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) announced that it had imposed a curfew on the Palestinian villages of Tell and Bureij, as well as the nearby Jewish settlement of Shiloh.
Despite video of the incident showing an altercation that escalated and the Israeli military acknowledging that the killing of the Israelis was not planned in advance, the IDF is treating the event as a terror attack and announced a “large-scale” operation in the area to go after “dozens of Palestinians” involved in the incident.
The IDF said it had cancelled leave for soldiers operating in the area and was preparing to send in reinforcements. Amid reports of settler attacks and raids on Palestinian villages in the area, the IDF said it was concerned by the possibility of settler violence.
Settler attacks continued in nearby areas in the West Bank, including in the towns of Faraata, Imatin, Jit, Iraq Burin, and the Masafer Yatta area in Hebron.
Video and photos obtained by CNN from Faraata residents show settlers setting fire to homes, cars and businesses in their village. In one area of the town, settlers sprayed the word “revenge” on the walls and uprooted an olive field with two bulldozers.
The Palestinian Red Crescent said on Friday afternoon that 8 people had been injured the Faraata attack, with six of them in hospital with gunshot wounds.
In a statement after the Tell incident, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ordered the military to accelerate the establishment of more settlement outposts or farms in the area and the legalization of existing ones.
West Bank settlements are considered illegal under international law and by most of the international community and the United Nations, but settlers have successfully established dozens of unauthorized outposts in recent years and eventually secured Israeli government approvals.
Friday’s incident comes amid a marked escalation in settler violence across the occupied territory. Two Palestinians were fatally shot by Israeli forces in Beit Furik on Thursday after settlers reportedly set fire to Palestinian-owned fields and vehicles, according to local accounts.
Two more Palestinians were killed days earlier in the village of Deir Jarir, near Ramallah, during a settler raid, according to Palestinian health officials.
CNN’s Oren Liebermann contributed reporting.
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