2023 Huwara rampage
On 26 February 2023, hundreds of Israeli settlers went on a violent late-night rampage in Huwara and other Palestinian villages in the Israeli-occupied West Bank.[1][2] The events left one civilian dead and 100 other Palestinians injured, four critically, and the town ablaze.[2][3] It was the worst flare-up of Israeli settler violence in the northern West Bank in decades, and happened in the pretext of the the deadly shooting of two Israeli settlers in the same town.[4][5][6]
| 2023 Huwara rampage | |
|---|---|
| Part of the Israeli–Palestinian conflict | |
 A car set on fire by settlers - Burin village | |
| Location | Huwara |
| Date | 26 February 2023 (UTC+02:00) |
| Target | Local Palestinian residents |
Attack type | Rioting, street violence, vandalism, arson |
| Deaths | 1 |
| Injured | 100+ |
| Perpetrator | Israeli settlers |
Israeli soldiers were in the area while the rampage by the settlers unfolded, and did not intervene.[3] The rampage was called a pogrom by an Israeli commander in charge of the area.[7] The same day, Israeli and Palestinian officials issued a joint declaration in Aqaba, Jordan to counter the recent round of Israeli–Palestinian violence.[4][5][8]
In the rampage's aftermath, Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, a settler leader in charge of the administration of the West Bank,[9] called for Huwara to be "wiped out" by the Israeli army.[10][11] Condemnations from the United States, European Union and Arab countries led to Smotrich retracting his comments and claiming they were said in the heat of the moment.[7][12]