Antalya: An Israeli settler on Thursday was pronounced dead from wounds she sustained in a shooting attack in the northern occupied West Bank. The attack occurred on Wednesday evening, leaving the settler with serious injuries that ultimately proved fatal.

According to Anadolu Agency, Israeli public broadcaster KAN reported the death of the settler, who succumbed to the injuries inflicted during the attack. The incident has triggered a strong reaction from Israeli officials, including Hardliner Bezalel Smotrich, Israel's finance minister, who has called for retaliatory measures against Palestinian villages near the site of the attack.

Smotrich, referencing past military actions in the Gaza Strip, emphasized the need to target Palestinian areas in Judea and Samaria, the biblical name for the West Bank. He specifically mentioned the villages of Bruqin and Kafr al-Dik, suggesting they should be subjected to similar military actions as previous operations in Gaza neighborhoods.

The attack was initially reported by Israel's emergency medical service, Magen David Adom, which noted that two Israelis were seriously wounded when their vehicle came under fire on Route 446, located between the Palestinian town of Bruqin and the illegal Israeli settlement of Peduel.

In response to the attack, the Palestinian group Hamas described it as a "heroic shooting operation," asserting that it was a reaction to what they perceive as escalating Israeli aggression against Palestinians in Gaza, the West Bank, and other areas.

Palestinian sources report that since the onset of the conflict in the Gaza Strip in October 2023, at least 962 Palestinians have been killed and more than 7,000 injured due to actions by the Israeli army and settlers in the West Bank.

The ongoing conflict has drawn international attention, with the International Court of Justice declaring in July 2024 that Israel's long-standing occupation of Palestinian lands is illegal, urging the evacuation of all settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem.