On 26 February, hundreds of Israeli settlers went on a violent late-night rampage in Huwara and other villages in the northern West Bank, leaving one local resident dead and 100 others injured, four critically, and the town ablaze. It was the worst outburst of Israeli settler violence in decades. The riots occurred later on the same day as the deadly shooting of two Israeli settlers in the same town by an unidentified armed Palestinian. Background Some 700,000 Israeli settlers now live in the West Bank and east Jerusalem, in settlements viewed as illegal by the international community. Hardline settlers in the West Bank more generally frequently commit violence against Palestinians and vandalize Palestinian land and property, but rarely on this scale of the rampage in Huwara. Settler violence has generally been steadily on the rise in the West Bank in recent months, with Huwara previously having been subjected to an October blockade imposed by settlers and backed by Israeli soldiers. In the first two months of 2023, intercommunal violence led to the killings of 62 Palestinians and 14 Israelis. The year of 2022 was the deadliest for Palestinians living in the West Bank and east Jerusalem since 2004, according to B’Tselem, with nearly 150 Palestinians and 30 Israelis killed. The rampage in Huwara followed shortly after the deadly shooting of two Israeli settlers from Har Brakha, an Israeli settlement near Huwara, earlier the same day. The attack also came juxtaposed against a joint declaration earlier that day in Aqaba, Jordan by Israeli and Palestinian officials expressing a desire to work towards calming the latest round of violence. Rampage The Palestinian health ministry said a 37-year-old man was shot to death by the settlers, while the Palestinian Red Crescent medical service said another two people were wounded by gunfire, a third was stabbed and a fourth beaten with an iron bar. Ninety-five others were said to be suffering from teargas inhalation. Alongside the physical violence against local residents, the settlers set fire to approximately 30 homes and cars. Social media showed large blazes burning across the town and the violence reportedly lasted throughout the night and continued on into Monday morning. Aftermath There were no soldiers, police or Border Police during the riots. The next day the rioters were still in control. Groups of masked Jews were checking vehicles looking for Palestinians. Israeli soldiers nearby did not intervene. "Reports of a