Early Wednesday, the Palestinian Health Ministry released the four men’s names and ages, ranging from 20-25 years old.

Israel has been attacking Nur Shams for the past week. An Israeli soldier was killed by a roadside explosion in the camp on Monday, the military said.

Since the war on Gaza began, over 550 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli fire in the West Bank, with Israeli raids into Palestinian cities and towns driving up the death toll.

Settlers incursions

Israeli settlers staged yet another incursion into the Palestinian village of Umm al-Khair Tuesday, a Bedouin hamlet in the southern West Bank that has weathered a week of home demolitions and repeated settler attacks.

Two trucks full of Israeli soldiers arrived at the village before the settlers got there, said Eid Suleman, a well-known artist who lives in the village and had his home demolished last week.

The soldiers looked on as a group of settlers from a nearby outpost set up a small clubhouse in a tent directly next to a Palestinian home.

“They literally tied the tent’s rope to the house,” said Awdah Hathaleen, a 29-year-old teacher and lifelong resident of the village, which was founded by Palestinians displaced from the Negev Desert in southern Israel during the 1948 war surrounding the country’s creation.

Hathaleen said the settlers spent about two hours in the tent, playing loud music and letting their sheep graze on village land.

He said a group of 40 settlers arrived later in the day, standing and praying in the middle of the village.

Last week, Israeli bulldozers demolished several houses in the village, leaving a quarter of its 200 people homeless, including 31 children.

The Israeli military body responsible for civilian matters in the West Bank, COGAT, claimed the demolished structures had been built illegally and without permits. Palestinians in these areas have long said it is virtually impossible to get construction permits from Israeli authorities.

Since the demolition, Hathaleen said the people whose homes were torn down have been sleeping outside.

“We are really broken,” said Hathaleen. “People are starting to think, ‘Where should we go?’”

The demolition was followed by a string of assaults on the village by settlers from a neighboring outpost called “Shorashim Farm,” led by Israeli settler Shimon Atiya.

Settlers arrived in the village Monday and injured six Palestinians, including four women and a 5-year-old girl, with tear gas and sticks. 

“We know what this is. They’re trying to expel us out of here,” said Suleman. “The military did the dirty job last week and now the settlers are following up.”