Israeli Stabs Palestinian to Death, Palestinians Say

The Palestinian Health Ministry says a man died after being stabbed by an Israeli settler in the occupied West Bank on Tuesday. Israeli police said they did not yet know the identity of the stabber.

The ministry said Ali Hassan Harb was stabbed in the chest. Wafa, the official Palestinian news agency, said he was 27.

An Israeli security source said the Israelis were part of a settler-youth group that had arrived to set up an outpost at the entrance of Ariel, and that no knife had been found.

Police said clashes broke out between Israelis traveling in the area and Palestinians, with a member of security forces firing into the air, and one Palestinian suffering a stab wound. They added that the identity of the assailant is unknown, and that an investigation was opened into the incident and that at this stage.

Harb's cousin Naeem told Haaretz that he, the deceased, and other family members had received a message from a shepherd warning that Israeli settlers had arrived on their family's land to put up an outpost.

"We went out there, and there was a group of settlers, and when they saw us, they left without issue. Soon afterwards, they returned with soldiers, and tried to build the outpost again and when we tried to prevent them, one of the settlers took a knife and stabbed Ali in the chest. He fell down and was bleeding, but the soldiers prevented us from getting close to him. He laid there for half an hour until we managed to bring him to the hospital, but they couldn't save him."

Naeem added that it was clear that if the army had not been present, the settlers would not have returned to the family's land: "This is the meaning of the occupation. There is no law.

The Israeli human right organization Yesh Din responded to the incident: "Settler violence is on the rise and the military is standing by idly. After dozens of attacks in May-June, the tragic news arrived today. We call on the Minister of Defense to intervene urgently and prevent the next disaster. "