“Israel’s” Ben Gvir Defends Settlers Who Killed Palestinians as “Heroes”

By Staff, Agencies

“Israel’s” so-called “National” Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir praised settlers of killing a 19-year-old Palestinian in the occupied West Bank as “heroes”.

The far-right minister said on Sunday that anyone “defending” themselves against “stone-throwing” should “receive a commendation”.

His statement was referring to the two “Israeli” settlers responsible for the fatal shooting of Qusai Jamal Maatan in the Palestinian village of Burqa on Friday.

One of the two suspects is a former spokesman of an MP with Ben Gvir's Otzma “Yehudit Jewish Power” party. The pair were arrested by “Israeli” forces on Saturday.

Hours after his initial statement, Ben Gvir took to X, formally known as Twitter, to criticize media outlets for referring to the settlers as suspected murderers.

“A Jew who defends himself and others from murder by Palestinians is not a murder suspect, but a hero who will get full backing from me,” he said.

The incident took place on Friday night in Burqa village, east of Ramallah.

Residents revealed that armed settlers arrived at the village from a nearby settlement outpost and attacked them from three directions.

At least three people were hit with bullets, which wounded three young men, including Maatan. He later was martyred in the hospital.

Ben Gvir said he hopes there will be a “thorough investigation also of the Arab rioters who threw stones and tried to murder Jews.”