RAMALLAH, 21 April 2025 (WAFA) – The Palestinian Ministry of Health announced on Monday evening that a Palestinian resident was killed due to tear gas inhalation in the town of Sinjil, located north of Ramallah.
The victim, 48-year-old Wa'el Basem Ghafri, died after inhaling tear gas fired by Israeli occupation forces, who were providing protection for dozens of colonists who stormed the town earlier in the day.
According to eyewitnesses, a group of colonists attacked an area of land separating Sinjil and the neighboring village of Al Mazra‟a ash Sharqiya. The colonists, under the protection of Israeli forces, set fire to a rural house.
Violent confrontations broke out in the town between local residents and Israeli forces, who opened live fire and tear gas at the Palestinians, with the assistance of armed colonists. While no injuries from live ammunition were reported, dozens of citizens suffered from severe tear gas inhalation.
Later, the Ministry of Health confirmed that Wa'el Ghafri succumbed to the effects of the gas inhalation.
Eyewitnesses added that around 20 colonists had initially stormed the town's Khirbet al-Tall area late last night. By morning, residents headed to the area, only to be met by more colonists, whose numbers swelled to around 200.
The colonists proceeded to set fire to a farm belonging to Mohammad Ghafri, destroyed a workshop under construction, and burned three livestock barracks. They also stole 45 sheep and slaughtered several others.
One of the farm owners suffered a heart attack after being physically assaulted, sprayed with tear gas, and struck in the face by the colonists.
Since the beginning of the Israeli war on Gaza in October 2023, colonists have established 60 illegal colonial outposts in the occupied West Bank, 51 of which were erected in 2024 alone, according to the Colonization and Wall Resistance Commission.
The ongoing Israeli colonists’ violence and land seizures have resulted in the displacement of 29 Palestinian communities, comprising 311 families and approximately 2,000 individuals, between October 7, 2023, and the end of 2024.
T.R.
