Six Dead in West Bank Village of Tal After Hikers, Settlers and Palestinians Clash Near Nablus

Six people are dead after a shooting in the West Bank village of Tal, southwest of Nablus, on Friday, July 24. It is the deadliest single incident in the territory in months, according to the BBC.

The dead include two Israelis and four Palestinians. Israeli and Palestinian health officials confirmed the toll to Reuters. Several more were wounded on both sides.

What Both Sides Agree On

A group of roughly 60 Israeli hikers, including armed guards, left Mount Bracha early Friday morning, according to an account one hiker gave to Walla and reported by the Jerusalem Post. Around 7:05 a.m., the group says Palestinian residents began throwing rocks and swinging clubs at them near a spring by Sela Ridge, injuring one hiker in the face.

The hikers retreated toward Gilad Farm, a nearby Israeli settlement. A second, larger confrontation followed around 8:05 a.m., with Palestinians allegedly surrounding the group from three sides and throwing stones, per the hiker's account to Walla.

At some point during the chaos, a Palestinian took a weapon from a member of Gilad Farm's civilian emergency response squad and opened fire, according to the IDF. Benayahu Melet, 32, a member of that squad who had gone to help the hikers, was killed. Major Yuval Ezra, 27, an IDF artillery battery commander, was also killed. The Jerusalem Post reported Melet leaves behind a wife and two daughters.

Israeli troops then hunted down and killed the gunman, the IDF said, and recovered the stolen weapon.

Where the Accounts Split

Palestinian residents tell a very different story about how the day started. Essam Saifi, a local Fatah party leader in Tal, told Reuters that 25 to 30 Israeli settlers first attacked the eastern part of the village and tried to force their way into two homes. Residents came out to confront them, and the settlers opened fire, Saifi said.

He said the same group of Israelis returned about 30 minutes later and attacked the western side of town, striking a minor with a weapon. That's when Israeli soldiers arrived and, along with the settlers, began shooting, according to Saifi's account to Reuters.

An eyewitness named Ahmed Zeidan told the BBC that locals rushed to confront around 30 settlers attacking Palestinian homes, and that hand-to-hand clashes broke out in front of Israeli soldiers before the shooting started.

The Palestinian Authority's Health Ministry said four Palestinians were killed and four wounded, with three in critical condition, per the Jerusalem Post. Saifi told Reuters the dead included two brothers and two of their cousins.

What Israel Says, and What It Hasn't Explained

The IDF's official account differs from both the hikers' informal telling and the Palestinian account. The military says it responded to reports of an attack on civilian hikers, that a security guard had his weapon stolen and was killed with it, and that soldiers then "eliminated the terrorist who executed the terror attack." The IDF separately said a 27-year-old soldier "fell during operational activity in the area of the village," without detailing the circumstances of that death.

The IDF has not explained who killed the other three Palestinians beyond the one gunman its forces killed. Whether that was settlers, soldiers, or some combination is not addressed in the military's public statements as reported by the BBC. This is the central factual dispute. Palestinian witnesses say settlers and soldiers fired together into the village. Israel's account focuses narrowly on the hiker attack and the one gunman it says it killed. Both things can be true without contradicting each other, but neither side's account, as reported, fully accounts for four Palestinian deaths.

The Broader Backdrop

Settler attacks on Palestinians and their property have surged in the West Bank since the Gaza war began after Hamas's October 7, 2023 attack on Israel, according to the BBC. That context matters for judging plausibility on both sides, but it doesn't resolve what happened in Tal on Friday.

The Palestinian foreign ministry called the incident a "massacre" and blamed what it described as "protection, political backing, and complete impunity granted by the Israeli government and occupation forces" for settler violence, according to the BBC. That's an accusation, not an established fact, and no Israeli government official has been charged or formally implicated in encouraging this specific incident.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed to act "with full force against the terrorists and those who orchestrate" the violence, his office said, and convened an emergency meeting Friday, according to Reuters.

What Happens Next

The IDF has canceled soldiers' leave and says it's preparing a major operation in the Tal area. Troops have set up roadblocks and imposed a temporary closure on Nablus and Tal while searching for additional suspects, an AFP reporter at the scene told the BBC.

No independent investigation into the deaths of the three unexplained Palestinian casualties has been announced by Israeli authorities as of Friday. Whether one materializes, and whether it addresses the gap between the IDF's account and the accounts given by Palestinian witnesses to Reuters and the BBC, remains an open question.