Ankara / Anadolu

The Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced on Friday its strong condemnation of the escalating terrorism by illegal Israeli settlers in the occupied Palestinian territories.

This came in a written statement from the ministry, commenting on bloody attacks carried out by settlers and the Israeli army on Palestinian towns and villages in the occupied West Bank.

The statement clarified that the killing of four Palestinians by 'terrorist settlers' encouraged by the government of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is a direct result of the genocide policy that Israel continues to pursue.

It added: 'We renew our call to the international community to ensure that terrorist settlers who usurp Palestinian lands, and those who support them, are not immune from punishment for the crimes they commit, and to ensure that those responsible are brought to justice.'

On Friday, 4 Palestinians were killed and at least 7 injured, while 11 were arrested, in attacks carried out by settlers and the Israeli army in 16 areas across 6 governorates in the occupied West Bank.

The attacks ranged from gunfire, incursions, beatings, and burning of a house, property, and agricultural lands, in addition to closing town entrances and setting up military checkpoints.

The occupied West Bank has witnessed an escalation in attacks by the Israeli army and settlers since the start of the genocide war on the Gaza Strip in October 2023.

The attacks have resulted in the killing of 1,182 Palestinians and the injury of thousands, in addition to the arrest of about 24,000, according to official Palestinian data.