Israeli army arrests Palestinian for allegedly killing illegal settler in West Bank

By Yaqut Dandashi

JERUSAELM (AA) - The Israeli army said Monday that it arrested a Palestinian man in the occupied West Bank village of Duma on suspicion of killing a settler whose body was found 10 days ago.

"The General Security Service (Shin Bet), the police, and the army arrested late Monday Ahmed Dawabsha, 21, from the village of Duma," army spokesperson Avichay Adraee said on X.

He claimed that Dawabsha confessed during initial interrogation that he killed Benjamin Ahimeir from Jerusalem on April 12 near Ma'ale HaShalom area.

Ma'ale HaShalom is an Israeli settlement outpost located on the lands of the Palestinian village of Al-Mughayyir, northeast of the city of Ramallah in the central West Bank.

Estimates indicate about 700,000 Israeli settlers live in roughly 300 illegal settlements in the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem.

All Jewish settlements in the occupied territories are considered illegal under international law.

Tensions have been high across the occupied West Bank since Israel launched a deadly military offensive against the Gaza Strip, which killed more than 34,000 people following a Hamas attack on Oct. 7, 2023.

At least 485 Palestinians have since been killed and over 4,800 others injured by Israeli army fire in the occupied West Bank, according to the Health Ministry.

Israel stands accused of genocide at the International Court of Justice, which in an interim ruling in January ordered Tel Aviv to stop genocidal acts and take measures to guarantee that humanitarian assistance is provided to civilians in Gaza.

*Writing by Mohammad Sio in Istanbul