Scuffles with police as Israelis protest for peace

STORY: Earlier on Monday, suspected Palestinian gunmen killed an Israeli motorist in the occupied West Bank after Jewish settlers rampaged through a Palestinian village in a surge of violence that defied U.S. efforts to prod the sides toward security cooperation.

Israel reinforced its West Bank garrisons after two brothers from a Jewish settlement were shot dead on Sunday (February 26), triggering the rampage by settlers in which a Palestinian was killed, scores were hurt and dozens of cars and homes were torched.

With the Muslim holy month of Ramadan and Jewish Passover festival weeks away, foreign mediators have sought to tamp down tensions that surged after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu regained power at the head of a hard-right coalition.

Sixty-three Palestinians, including gunmen and civilians, have been killed by Israeli forces in 2023, Palestinian officials say. Palestinian attacks have killed 13 Israelis, one of them a policeman, and a Ukrainian tourist, Israel says.