RAMALLAH / Qais Abu Samra / Anadolu

Hundreds of Palestinians on Monday mourned the bodies of two citizens killed by Israeli army fire during an attack by settlers on the town of Deir Jarir, east of Ramallah in the occupied West Bank.

On Sunday evening, the Health Ministry announced the killing of Palestinians Ouda Abdel Rahim Farakhna (53 years old) and Ahmed Adel Abu Mukho (26 years old) by army fire during an attack by Israeli settlers on the town, while a third was wounded.

The funeral procession set out from the Palestine Medical Complex in Ramallah to the town of Deir Jarir, where farewells were paid at their families' homes.

The mourners chanted slogans denouncing the Israeli occupation and its settlers, demanding accountability for the perpetrators of the crime.

The mourners also performed funeral prayers for the two bodies at the town's mosque before they were laid to rest in the Deir Jarir cemetery.

On the sidelines of the funeral, the head of Deir Jarir's village council, Eid Hammad, told Anadolu that the attack 'was not spontaneous, but premeditated.'

He added: 'The settlers entered the outskirts of the town accompanied by and under the protection of the Israeli army.'

He explained that the settlers entered the town to steal sheep, marking some of them before loading them into their vehicles and seizing them, prompting young men from the town to confront them.

He stated that the Israeli army 'did not give the young men a chance and opened fire directly, killing Ahmed Abu Mukho and Ouda Farakhna.'

Hammad noted that Farakhna was a member of the village council, saying he 'loved agriculture and had ideas for developing the town, but the occupation prevented him from achieving them.'

He reported that Deir Jarir faces almost daily settler attacks, but 'the latest attack was the most violent,' noting that the town has lost five of its residents since the beginning of this year in settler-related assaults.

He continued: 'There is no separating the army and the settlers; the settler who moves under army protection is a partner in the crime.'

He pointed to an outpost he described as 'the most dangerous in the region,' saying it has become a gathering point for settlers during attacks on Palestinian villages.

In a related context, the Fatah movement condemned the attack, saying what happened in Deir Jarir 'represents a new chapter in the policy of organized killing and state terrorism carried out by the occupation government against the Palestinian people.'

This came in a statement by the movement's spokesman, Abdel Fattah Dawla, who considered that the settlers 'are no longer just extremist groups, but have become a field arm of the occupation army, moving under its protection and participating in carrying out crimes of murder, intimidation, and land burning.'

He called on the international community, the United Nations, and the International Criminal Court to take practical steps to stop settler attacks, hold Israeli officials accountable, and provide international protection for Palestinians.

The West Bank has seen a surge in Israeli army and settler attacks since October 8, 2023, resulting in the killing of 1,181 Palestinians and wounding of about 13,000, in addition to the arrest of nearly 24,000, according to official data as of July 7 current.