'We need to kill all': Israeli settler defends revenge attacks on Palestinians in West Bank
According to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), 64 Palestinians died in the West Bank between the start of the year and 20 July. The agency said settlers killed at least 12 of them, while Israeli forces killed three.
An Israeli settler living in the Havat Gilad outpost in the occupied West Bank defended recent attacks on nearby Palestinian villages, saying they were justified as revenge for the killing of an Israeli security guard.
The violence followed a confrontation in the Palestinian village of Tal on 18 July. The clash killed the security guard from Havat Gilad, four Palestinians and an Israeli soldier. The original cause of the incident remains disputed, the BBC reported.
The BBC interviewed Yehuda Shimon, a lawyer who represents Israelis accused of violence against Palestinians.
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He said settlers should retaliate for the guard's death and called for attacks on residents of nearby Palestinian villages, including Tal, Sarra, Jit and Farata.
He said one Jewish life outweighed "millions" of Palestinian lives. When challenged over the racist nature of his comments, he did not deny the accusation and said he believed his statement reflected the truth.
"I think now, after they killed one Israeli, we need to kill all the people in Tal and Sarra, even Jit and Farata," he said, naming the Palestinian villages closest to the outpost.
The BBC noted that many Israelis reject such extreme views.
However, it noted that these beliefs help explain the ideology of some settlers as settlement expansion continues and violence increases across the occupied West Bank.
Shimon rejected international law and argued that the Bible gave Jews the right to the West Bank.
"Yes, I know," he replied. "But this is the truth, because God chose us [and] because of this you are jealous."
He criticised the Israeli government and army for failing to support settlers strongly enough. He also said Israeli forces should use lethal force more often against Palestinians during confrontations.
According to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), 64 Palestinians died in the West Bank between the start of the year and 20 July. The agency said settlers killed at least 12 of them, while Israeli forces killed three.
It has not determined responsibility in three other cases. One Israeli also died during the same period. The agency said settler attacks have caused more than three injuries a day on average this year.
The BBC said Israel has occupied the West Bank since the 1967 Middle East war and has built hundreds of settlements and outposts there, housing more than half a million Israelis. International law considers both official settlements and unauthorised outposts illegal.
Shimon said Palestinians living in the West Bank had three choices: accept Israeli rule, leave for other Arab or Muslim countries, or face death if they continued resistance.
The BBC said his views closely resembled a 2017 proposal by Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich. The plan said Palestinians should abandon demands for statehood, accept Israeli rule or leave the territory.
Palestinians living near Havat Gilad told the BBC they feared more settler attacks.
They said Israeli forces focused on protecting settlers while Palestinian communities lacked protection.
