Israeli settlers target Palestinian villages in occupied West Bank, attacking people and properties

The violence began after a teenage settler - 18-year-old Yehuda Sherman - was killed on Saturday, after reportedly being hit by a vehicle driven by a Palestinian while on his quad bike. Police said they were investigating whether the hit was deliberate or accidental.

Settler violence has surged since the US and Israel attacked Iran, with six Palestinians killed by settlers since 1 March, according to the United Nations (UN).

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said in a statement that its troops and border police units were dispatched to several Palestinian villages on Saturday night. It said it had received reports of Israeli civilians "committing acts of arson against structures and property, as well as engaging in disturbances in the area".

The villages of Jalud, Qaryut, al-Funduqmiya and Silat al-Dhah were among those targeted.

Other footage said to be from the village shows multiple vehicles on fire, buildings with smashed windows, and sirens ringing out as ambulances attend the scene. One photo shows the words "Avenge Yehuda" spray-painted onto a building.

The Palestinian Red Crescent Society said at least three Palestinians suffered head wounds and were taken to hospital after confronting the attackers, some of whom were also reportedly injured.

The Palestinian Ministry of Foreign Affairs condemned the assault, saying it involved the "burning of homes and property, terrorising and killing of civilians, and the targeting of vital roads, junctions, and main streets during Eid al-Fitr".

More than 500 people were in attendance for the funeral of Yehuda Sherman on Sunday afternoon, according to Israeli media, including Israel's far-right finance minister Bezalel Smotrich, who has been sanctioned by the UK and other countries for inciting violence against Palestinians.

On Sunday evening, Jewish settlers were blocking roads in protest in the occupied West Bank.

There were unconfirmed reports that settler groups had again begun to gather outside some Palestinian villages, with local news agency WAFA reporting they had set fire to a car wash north-west of Nablus.

Earlier this month, the EU and UK demanded that Israel halt the surge in settler violence against Palestinians which has taken place since the war in Iran began on 28 February.

Since the start of the year, seven Palestinians have been killed by Israeli settlers and 18 by Israeli forces, according to the UN, with 15 of the killings taking place since the Iran war started.

Israel has built about 160 settlements housing 700,000 Jews since it occupied the West Bank and East Jerusalem - land Palestinians want, along with Gaza, for a hoped-for future state - during the 1967 Middle East war. An estimated 3.3 million Palestinians live alongside them.

The settlements are illegal under international law.

Israel is investigating how ballistic missiles got through the country's sophisticated air defences.

Conflict has spread across the Middle East since the US and Israel launched strikes on Iran on 28 February.

Much of the damage was caused in initial retaliatory strikes by Iran in the week after the US and Israel launched its operation.

Syria condemned the strikes on weapons sites and government infrastructure as an "outrageous" assault on Syria's sovereignty.