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Türkiye on Friday condemned what it described as escalating illegal settler violence in the occupied Palestinian territories after four Palestinians were killed in the occupied West Bank.
"We strongly condemn the escalating illegal settler terror in the occupied Palestinian territories," the Foreign Ministry said in a statement.
The ministry said the killing of four Palestinians on Friday by settler groups "encouraged by the Netanyahu government" was "a result of Israel's ongoing genocide policy."
It reiterated its call on the international community to ensure that "the crimes committed by settler terrorists who seize Palestinian land and their supporters do not go unpunished, and that those responsible are held accountable before justice."
Earlier Friday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Israel Katz ordered what they described as a "wide-scale military operation" in Palestinian villages across the occupied West Bank following a shooting attack near the illegal Havat Gilad settlement.
The attack killed two Israelis and wounded three others, according to Israeli reports.
According to Anadolu correspondents, Israeli settlers later attacked the Palestinian villages of Sarra and Urif in the Nablus governorate, setting fire to Palestinian homes and other property, while residents confronted them by throwing stones.
Four Palestinians were killed Friday in an attack by Israeli settlers and Israeli forces on the town of Tell, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry.
Israeli forces detained more than 40 young Palestinian men Saturday in a raid on Tell, near Nablus in the northern occupied West Bank, the official Voice of Palestine radio reported.
The broadcaster said Israeli troops seized a house in the town and converted it into a field interrogation center.
It added that Israeli forces were carrying out extensive raids on homes across the town while surrounding it from all directions.
Netanyahu also ordered the establishment of new settler outposts in the occupied West Bank on Friday in what was described as a retaliatory move after the confrontation near Havat Gilad and Tell.
Following the incident, Netanyahu vowed to "act with full force against the terrorists and those who orchestrate and sponsor them."
He later announced a series of steps, including raids in Palestinian villages suspected of hosting militants and "accelerating the legalization of farm outposts and establishment of new ones" in the West Bank.
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas denounced the move, saying "the continuation of these crimes and daily violations against the Palestinian people is pushing the occupied West Bank toward an explosion."
All Israeli settlements are illegal under international law. Outposts are small settlements usually established without government approval and are generally illegal under Israeli law as well.
Excluding East Jerusalem, more than 500,000 Israelis live in settlements in the West Bank alongside around 3 million Palestinians.
Friday's violence erupted near Havat Gilad and the neighboring Palestinian village of Tell, in territory occupied by Israel since 1967.
Walid Zidan, head of the Tell village council, said the clashes began when a group of about 20 settlers entered the village.
"Villagers came out to defend their homes and property. Clashes and physical altercations broke out between the residents and the settlers," Zidan told Agence France-Presse (AFP).
"Israeli soldiers were present and together with the settlers began opening fire," he said.
"It was the settlers who stormed the village, with the intention of killing, vandalizing and setting property on fire," he added.
The Ramallah-based Palestinian Health Ministry said four Palestinians were killed and four others were wounded in the incident.
The Israeli military said there had been a violent confrontation between dozens of Palestinians and Israeli civilians in Tell.
A military official said an emergency response security team from Havat Gilad was called to the scene along with soldiers.
"During the confrontation, shots were fired on both sides and a weapon belonging to a member of the emergency response security team was stolen by a Palestinian terrorist," the official said.
"One member of the security team was killed during the incident and additional security members were injured," the official added.
Israel's Magen David Adom emergency service said a man in his 30s was pronounced dead near Havat Gilad. Two others were wounded by gunfire, one of them seriously.
The Israeli military later said another Israeli, an officer, was also killed in the violence.
Grieving Palestinian relatives gathered at two hospitals in nearby Nablus, where the victims' bodies were taken, an AFP journalist reported.
Shortly after, Israeli troops entered one hospital and detained a man wounded during the clash, as well as his brother, a hospital official told AFP.
An AFP journalist at the scene saw troops taking at least one handcuffed man from the hospital.
The military said troops arrested two men from the Nablus hospital who had taken part in the clashes.
AFP journalists were unable to reach the site of the violence because Israeli forces had set up roadblocks across the area.
The Israeli military said it was preparing to launch an "extensive counterterrorism operational activity" in the West Bank and had postponed soldiers' leave in the territory.
"We are pursuing every terrorist involved in the attack," military chief Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir said during a visit to Tell, according to a statement.
Palestinians reported other bouts of settler violence in the northern West Bank.
Abbas' office condemned what it called "Israeli colonists' terrorism," denouncing the killings in Tell as well as settler attacks later Friday in Awarta, Sarra, Urif, Amriha, Masafer Yatta and Farata.
In Farata, near Havat Gilad, "settlers set fire to the olive groves," said Abdel Moneim Shanneh, head of the local council.
"The army prevented young men from the village from extinguishing fires and opened fire on them," he said.
The Palestinian Red Crescent said its teams transported eight people wounded in the attack, including six with bullet wounds.
The Red Crescent also reported that two men were wounded during another settler attack in Sarra, near Nablus.
Violence in the occupied West Bank has intensified since Israel launched its military offensive on the Gaza Strip in October 2023.
According to official Palestinian figures, at least 1,182 Palestinians have been killed, thousands injured and nearly 24,000 arrested in Israeli military raids and settler attacks during that period.
Israeli figures show that at least 48 Israelis, including civilians and security personnel, have been killed in Palestinian attacks or during Israeli military operations since the start of the Gaza war.
According to an AFP tally based on Palestinian Health Ministry data, Israeli soldiers or settlers have killed at least 1,094 Palestinians, including both militants and civilians, over the same period.
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