Hundreds of Israeli settlers stormed a village in the Israel-occupied West Bank on Friday, firing weapons and setting a number of homes on fire in a rampage that left at least one Palestinian dead and about 25 wounded, according to reports.
The Palestinian man was killed in the village of Al-Mughayyir, east of Ramallah, CNN reported, citing Amin Abu-Alia, the head of the village council.
An Israeli rights group, Yesh Din, said the settlers were searching for a missing 14-year-old boy, the Associated Press reported.
Israeli troops continued the search for the teen after the frenzy.
Abu-Alia told CNN that as many as 2,000 settlers surrounded the village on Friday afternoon and about 500 of them stormed the village.
They raided homes, set some ablaze, tossed rocks, blocked roads and fired at residents.
Smoke could be seen billowing into the sky as gunfire crackled, CNN reported.
Israeli soldiers arrived a few hours later, but Abu-Alia said they did not stop the settlers from plundering the village.
"Violent riots were instigated in multiple locations in the area" following a search for the missing boy, and that Israeli forces tried to remove the settlers," Israel Defense Forces told CNN.
"Security forces operated to disperse the violent riots. During the incident, rocks were hurled at IDF soldiers, who responded with fire. Hits were identified. Furthermore, IDF and Israel Border Police forces operated to withdraw Israeli civilians who entered the town of Al Mughayyir," the IDF said.
The Palestinian Health Ministry said one dead man was brought to the hospital and 25 people were treated for wounds, the Associated Press said.
The father of the dead man, Jehad Abu Alia, 26, said it's unclear whether his son was killed by a bullet fired by a settler or an Israeli soldier.
"My son went with others to defend our land and honor, and this is what happened," Afif Abu Alia told the AP from a hospital in the West Bank city of Ramallah, where his son's body had been taken.
