A Palestinian American died within the Israeli-occupied West Financial institution final week after a confrontation with settlers, U.S. officers confirmed.
Khamis Ayyad, who was in his 40s, died Thursday from smoke inhalation in Silwad, a village within the central West Financial institution close to a number of Israeli settlements, a U.S. official advised CBS Information. The Palestinian well being ministry stated on Friday that the fires have been set by settlers on properties and automobiles in Silwad, in response to the Agence France-Presse.
Nasser Nasser / AP
A U.S. State Division spokesperson confirmed to CBS Information the dying on Sunday and condemned what they known as “prison violence by any social gathering.”
“We provide condolences to the household on their loss and are offering consular help to them,” the spokesperson stated, including that they’d not be commenting additional.
Ayyad was laid to relaxation on Friday.
Nidal Eshtayeh/Xinhua by way of Getty Pictures 
The Palestinian Authority, which administers a part of the Israeli-occupied West Financial institution, advised AFP that some villages round Silwad additionally got here below assault by settlers, through which automobiles, properties and farmlands have been set ablaze.
Witnesses stated Israeli forces fired stay rounds and tear gasoline towards residents after the settlers attacked.
Israel’s army stated police have been investigating the incident. They stated safety forces discovered Hebrew graffiti and a burnt automobile on the scene however had not detained any suspects.
Israeli Police stated in an announcement that it has opened an investigation into the circumstances of the incident “to be able to decide the details in full.”
“We warning in opposition to drawing conclusions or assigning blame previous to the completion of knowledgeable and evidence-based investigative course of. Speculative claims don’t serve the pursuit of reality or accountability,” the assertion stated.
ZAIN JAAFAR/AFP by way of Getty Pictures 
Ayyad is the most recent Palestinian American to die within the West Financial institution in three weeks.
Saifullah Kamel Musallet, a 20-year-old man from Tampa, was crushed to dying by settlers whereas visiting household within the West Financial institution in July. He was killed in a confrontation with settlers whereas defending his household’s land within the city of Sinjil, north of Ramallah, in response to his household and the Palestinian Well being Ministry.
U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee, who visited Gaza final week with U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff, has requested Israel to “aggressively examine the homicide” of Musallet, saying in a social media submit that “there have to be accountability for this prison and terrorist act.”
There was an increase in settler assaults on Palestinians, in addition to Palestinian militant assaults on Israelis and large-scale Israeli army operations within the occupied West Financial institution since Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023 assault on Israel out of Gaza that triggered the Israel-Hamas warfare.
Hamas-led terrorists killed round 1,200 individuals, principally civilians, that day and kidnapped 251 others. They nonetheless maintain 50 hostages, together with round 20 nonetheless believed to be alive. Many of the others have been launched in ceasefires or different offers.
Israel’s retaliatory offensive has killed greater than 60,000 Palestinians, in response to Gaza’s Well being Ministry, which does not distinguish between militants and civilians and operates below the Hamas authorities. The U.N. and different worldwide organizations see it as essentially the most dependable supply of information on casualties.
In Gaza on Sunday, at the least 23 Palestinians searching for meals have been killed by Israeli forces, in response to hospital officers and witnesses, who described going through gunfire as hungry crowds surged round assist websites.
Desperation has gripped the Palestinian territory of greater than 2 million, which specialists have warned is going through famine due to Israel’s blockade and practically two-year offensive.
Margaret Brennan
contributed to this report.
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