Since October, extremist Israeli settlers have ramped up their attacks against Palestinians living in West Bank villages, with many of the settlers killing Palestinians while torching their cars and stealing their livestock.
The Guardian’s Bethan McKernan and Sufian Taha reports:
Early on Friday 12 April, 14-year-old Binyamin Achimair gathered the sheep at Gal Yosef farm, an Israeli outpost in the occupied West Bank, taking them to graze before Shabbat began at sunset. He never came back.
When the flock returned without him, the Israeli army and police launched a massive search. Around 24 hours later, the boy’s body was found by a drone and Israeli officials deemed his death a terrorist attack.
But settlers in the area did not wait to find out Achimair’s fate before seeking revenge. That Friday afternoon, and the day after, the nearby Palestinian villages of Beitin, Duma and al-Mughayyir were attacked by hundreds of armed Israelis in an unprecedented episode of settler violence that left 17-year-old Omar Hamed and 25-year-old Jihad Abu Aliya dead and another 45 people injured. Eighteen were shot with live ammunition, including a 17-year-old girl who was shot in both legs.
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Protests against Israeli government organised nationwide, reports Times of Israel.
Families of hostages held in Gaza will hold their weekly rally in Tel Aviv on Saturday evening, with protests against the government also expected nationwide, reports the Times of Israel.
The Hostages and Missing Families Forum, have organised the rally to begin at 8pm (5pm GMT/6pm BST) at Tel Aviv’s Hostages Square, says the Israeli newspaper.
It also reports that a separate demonstration calling for early elections has been scheduled for 7.30pm (4.30pm GMT/5pm BST) at Kaplan street in Tel Aviv.
Thousands were expected to rally at 55 other locations across Israel, organisers told the publication.
