Body of boy found after disappearance sparks settler attack in West Bank

Torched vehicles are seen along the road in the West Bank village of al-Mughayyir (AP Photo/Nasser Nasser)

The body of a missing Israeli boy has been found in the occupied West Bank after he was killed in a “terrorist attack”, according to the Israeli army.

The disappearance of 14-year-old Binyamin Achimair sparked a large settler attack on a Palestinian village on Friday and Saturday.

The killing of the teenager and the settler rampages marked the latest in an escalation of violence in the territory, at a time when Israel is waging war on Hamas in the Gaza Strip.

A torched vehicle in the West Bank village of al-Mughayyir (Nasser Nasser/AP)

“Security forces are continuing the pursuit after those suspected of carrying out the attack,” the army said on Saturday.

On Friday, one Palestinian man was killed and 25 others were wounded in an attack on the village of Mughayyir, Palestinian health officials said.

Israeli troops delayed the ambulance carrying the body of the 26-year-old man for several hours, but it eventually got through.

Dozens of settlers returned to the village’s outskirts on Saturday, burning two homes and several cars.

Palestinian health officials say more than 460 Palestinians have been killed in the West Bank by Israeli fire since the war in Gaza erupted in October.