Settler violence heats up; young woman killed

Ma'an
A 21-year-old was killed instantly when a settler struck her with his car west of Ramallah on Friday, the latest in a rapid series of incidents marking a rise in settler violence.

The woman, identified by relatives as Summar Saif Radwan, was killed on the road leading to Al-Lubban Al-Gharbi, sandwiched between Israel's separation wall and the settlements of Ofarim and Bet Arye. The woman was pronounced dead at the hospital.

Shortly before the woman was stuck, settler groups near Nablus announced their intention to rally at the Huwwara military checkpoint, protesting what they described as "state neglect," according to the Israeli press, following the hospitalization of a settler the day before.

The day saw two additional settlers injured by rock throwing, as village leaders in the north describe at least two zones taken over by settlers marking Passover with outdoor celebrations.

Settler protest expected to heighten tensions

According to Israel's daily news site Ynet, those set for protest are from the Gav Hahar settlement. Previous protests by settlers in the north shut down the checkpoints in the area and halted movement for Palestinians.

The action recalls the settler-conceived "price tag policy," which had previously been defined as "hurting Palestinian residents and damaging their property" in response to what are seen as violations of settler rights by the Israeli government, police and military.

Thursday night, stones injured a settler in the head as he drove on the Huwwara road south of Nablus. The stones, reportedly thrown by young Palestinians in the area, resulted in injury and hospitalization of the man.

According to a second report from Ynet, settlers said the road leading from the settlements had become congested since the area was "opened up to Arab traffic."

"The terrorists used the gridlock along the road and at a certain point threw rocks and stones from two directions at the car," one settler told the news site.  F