Israel releases settlers arrested after anti-Palestinian attacks

Occupied East Jerusalem – Israeli authorities have released all suspects arrested after a Sunday night rampage by Jewish settlers in the occupied West Bank, which killed one Palestinian, injured hundreds, and destroyed Palestinian homes and property.

The Israeli police told the Times of Israel that six suspects had been released on Monday and that a further two were released to house arrest on Tuesday. No other settlers are believed to have been arrested.

The Israeli government has come under fierce criticism for its response to the attacks across several villages near Nablus, in which some 400 settlers participated.

Settlers committed shootings, and arson attacks and beat Palestinians with metal rods and rocks, according to Palestinian media reports. Some 390 Palestinians were injured – the majority from tear gas and smoke inhalation.

The Palestinian Authority said that at least 30 Palestinian homes and more than 100 cars had been burned.

“Hundreds participated in the attack; hundreds of properties [were] burned. It is belittling [the issue] that they have only arrested eight – and then released the majority of them,” Palestinian political analyst Ismat Mansour told Al Jazeera.

The Israeli military did not respond to Al Jazeera’s request for comment.

The release of the settlers arrested fits into a wider pattern, with only 3 percent of investigations into attacks against Palestinians resulting in a conviction and 93 percent of investigations closing without an indictment, according to the Israeli rights group Yesh Din.

Every year, hundreds of attacks have been carried out by Israelis living in illegal settlements against Palestinians and their properties in the occupied West Bank.

So far in 2023, at least four Palestinians have been killed by Israeli settlers in the occupied West Bank.