Israel’s military has killed three Palestinians in the first targeted assassination airstrike in the occupied West Bank in nearly two decades. Palestinian fighters with the Hamas and Islamic Jihad movements promised retribution for the drone attack, which came just two days after the Israeli military used U.S.-made Apache helicopters during a raid in Jenin that killed seven Palestinians and wounded dozens of others.
Elsewhere in the West Bank, hundreds of mourners joined a funeral procession for Omar Qattin, a 27-year-old Palestinian father of two who was killed Wednesday when hundreds of Israeli settlers attacked the village of Turmus Ayya, setting fire to homes and vehicles. Qattin’s mother, Hannan, spoke to reporters at the funeral.
Hannan Qattin: “He was the first one to go out whenever there were settlers. I would say, 'My darling Omar, stay a little farther away from them, and don't forget your kids.’ But he would say that I will take care of the kids. He used to tell me that every time.”
The U.S. State Department’s Office of Palestinian Affairs said it was “appalled” by the attacks on Palestinians by Israeli settlers, adding, “We call for Israeli authorities to immediately stop the violence, protect U.S. and Palestinian civilians, and prosecute those responsible.”