Dozens of Israeli settlers, some wearing masks, attacked a Palestinian village near the city of Qalqilya in the occupied West Bank, burning cars and killing at least one person. The Palestinian health ministry said one Palestinian was killed and another critically wounded by Israeli settlers’ gunfire during the attack in the village of Jit, the latest in a series of attacks by violent settlers in the West Bank. Footage shared on social media showed cars and houses on fire after the attacks. The Israeli military said police and army units intervened and arrested one Israeli. It condemned the attack, which it said diverted security forces from other responsibilities. It said it was examining reports about the death of the Palestinian. The office of the prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, issued a statement saying he viewed the attack with “utmost severity”. “Those responsible for any offence will be apprehended and tried,” it said. Israeli president Isaac Herzog condemned the attack as a “pogrom”. “I strongly condemn this evening’s pogrom in Samaria,” Herzog wrote on X, formerly Twitter, using the name of the biblical province corresponding to the northern West Bank. “This is an extreme minority that harms the law-abiding settler population and the settlement as a whole and the name and position of Israel in the world during a particularly sensitive and difficult period,” he added. Palestinians regularly accuse Israeli security forces of standing by and allowing groups of violent settlers to attack their houses and villages and the attacks have attracted increasing concern internationally. Violence in the West Bank has surged since the Gaza war started on 7 October and Israeli settlements there – considered illegal under international law – have also hit new records. The White House said late on Thursday attacks by settlers on Palestinian civilians in the West Bank were “unacceptable and must stop.” “Israeli authorities must take measures to protect all communities from harm, this includes intervening to stop such violence, and holding all perpetrators of such violence to account,” a White House spokesperson said. Netanyahu governs with support of far-right parties advocating more Israeli settlements in the West Bank or even outright annexation. His right-wing Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich wrote on X that the attackers in Jit had “nothing to do with the settlement and the settlers”. “They are criminals who must be dealt with by the law enforcement authorities with the full force of the law,” he added. The US and a number of European countries have imposed sanctions on violent settlers and called repeatedly on Israel to do more to curb the attacks. Reuters and Agence France-Presse contributed to this report You"ve read 15 articles in the last year Article count on This is what we"re up against Bad actors spreading disinformation online to fuel intolerance. Teams of lawyers from the rich and powerful trying to stop us publishing stories they don’t want you to see. Lobby groups with opaque funding who are determined to undermine facts about the climate emergency and other established science. Authoritarian states with no regard for the freedom of the press. *** But we have something powerful on our side. We’ve got you. This is why we"re inviting you to access our brilliant, investigative journalism with exclusive digital extras to unlock: 1. Unlimited articles in our app 2. Ad-free reading on all your devices 3. Exclusive newsletter for supporters, sent every week from the Guardian newsroom 4. Far fewer asks for support 5. Full access to the Guardian Feast app The Guardian is funded by readers like you in Egypt and the only person who decides what we publish is our editor. If you can, please support us on a monthly basis. It takes less than a minute to set up, and you can rest assured that you’re making a big impact every single month in support of open, independent journalism. Thank you.