Israel bolsters troop levels after unprecedented settler rampage

Palestinians inspect a damaged house and scorched cars in the town of Hawara (AP)

Israel has sent hundreds more troops to the occupied West Bank, a day after a Palestinian gunman killed two Israelis and settlers rampaged through a Palestinian town, torching homes and vehicles in the worst such violence in decades.

The responses to the rampage laid bare some rifts in Israel’s new right-wing government, with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu appealing for calm while a member of his ruling coalition praised the rampage as a deterrent against Palestinian attacks.