Extremist actions in the west bank might lead to be biggest conflict between Israel and Palestinia

Last week, a Palestinian village called Huwara was engulfed in thick smoke and blazing fires.

This incident did not only signify the destruction of the village and the injuries of many residents, but also the death of a Palestinian man at the hands of rioting Israeli settlers.

The incident may be a turning point in the ongoing conflict between Israelis and Palestinians, which could lead to violent clashes not seen in decades.

According to Nour Odeh, a Palestinian author and activist in Ramallah, no Palestinian in the West Bank feels safe anymore.

In Huwara, dozens of armed Jewish settlers had stormed through the village in retaliation for the killing of two Israeli brothers a few hours earlier by Palestinian gunmen nearby.

The Israeli general in charge of the area described the incident as a “pogrom carried out by outlaws.” His army division later detained over a dozen alleged rioters, even as soldiers were accused of helping the settlers that night.

Tensions between settlers and Palestinians have been increasing as Israeli settlements spread across the occupied territory.

These settlements have been largely approved by the Israeli government, though they are considered illegal and inflammatory by most of the international community.

According to the Israeli human rights group B’Tselem, some 620,000 Israeli Jewish settlers now live in the occupied territories, which is almost seven percent of Israel’s total population.

Moreover, settler extremists now have even more powerful allies in the new ultra-nationalist government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, a far-right coalition that includes hard-line settlers in key cabinet portfolios.

One such minister, Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, sparked outrage at home and abroad when he responded to last weekend’s violence by saying, “I think Huwara needs to be wiped out. I think the State of Israel should do it.”