Jewish settlers shot two Palestinian men in the occupied West Bank on Friday, critically injuring one of them, the mayor of a Palestinian village said. Palestinians said the incident in the village of Beit Ummar near Hebron was the second time they had come under fire from settlers in 24 hours. A 19-year-old was shot dead on Thursday near Nablus, further north. Nasri Sabarna, mayor of the village, told Reuters dozens of settlers had entered his village and started shooting at houses on Friday morning, hitting two youths working on land nearby. Palestinian medics said Fakhri Youssef, 17, was shot in the head and was on a life support machine. Violence in the West Bank has largely subsided in the past few years, but Israeli military officials have warned in private that the stalled peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians could stoke tensions and break the status quo. On Thursday, Oday Kaddous, 19, was shot dead near the village of Iraq Burin near Nablus. His cousin Omar Kaddous accused settlers of killing him in an unprovoked attack.
