The Turkish foreign ministry issued a formal condemnation on Friday regarding the killing of four Palestinians, characterizing the incident as an escalation of illegal settler terror within the occupied Palestinian territories. In its statement, the ministry directly linked the deaths to the policies of the Netanyahu government, describing the killings as a clear outcome of Israel's ongoing genocide policy.
Ankara has called upon the international community to take action to ensure that those responsible for these crimes are held accountable. The ministry emphasized that the settler terrorists who seize Palestinian land, along with their supporters, must not be allowed to escape justice.
This surge in violence follows an earlier announcement by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defence Minister Israel Katz, who ordered what they termed a “wide-scale military operation” across Palestinian villages in the occupied West Bank. This directive was issued in response to a shooting attack that occurred near the illegal Havat Gilad settlement.
Following these developments, illegal Israeli settlers were reported to have attacked the Palestinian villages of Sarra and Urif in the Nablus governorate. According to local correspondents, the settlers set fire to homes and property, while local residents attempted to defend their territory by throwing stones.
Tensions in the occupied West Bank have significantly intensified since Israel began its military offensive in Gaza in October 2023. Official Palestinian records indicate that since the start of that offensive, at least 1,182 Palestinians have been killed, thousands have sustained injuries, and nearly 24,000 individuals have been arrested during various military raids and attacks by occupiers.
