Two Palestinians killed in separate West Bank incidents as settler violence mounts
A 17-year-old boy and a 58-year-old man were shot dead in the occupied West Bank, with Palestinian officials citing a sharp rise in casualties from settler and military operations this year.
Two Palestinians were shot dead in separate incidents in the occupied West Bank on Friday, highlighting the escalating tension between Israeli military operations and settler activity in the region. The deaths occurred against a backdrop of rapid settlement expansion and a reported surge in forced displacement, according to the Palestinian Ministry of Health and local authorities.
In Sa’ir, north of Hebron, Israeli settlers shot dead 17-year-old Karim Sanad Raja Shalaldeh and wounded a 70-year-old man. The Palestinian Health Ministry stated that the shooting occurred after Palestinians allegedly threw rocks at Israeli civilians who were in the area without advanced authorisation. The teenager’s father told the Associated Press at the hospital that Israeli settlers had killed his son, while the Israeli military said soldiers were dispatched to the scene after some Israelis were injured.
Separately, 58-year-old Fathi Khazem was fatally shot by Israeli forces during a raid early Friday in Jenin. The Palestinian General Authority for Civil Affairs informed the Health Ministry of the death, noting that Khazem was a retired colonel in the Palestinian National Security Forces. An anonymous Israeli army official alleged that Khazem attempted to stab an Israeli soldier during an overnight operation, though no soldiers were injured.
The Israeli official noted that Khazem is the father of Raed Khazem, who shot and killed three people in Tel Aviv in April 2022. Another of Fathi Khazem’s sons, Abdul Rahman Hazem, was killed during an Israeli military raid in the Jenin refugee camp in September 2022. Palestinian officials reported that Khazem’s body was not released for burial and that emergency services were initially prevented from reaching the scene.
Palestinian officials report that at least 87 Palestinians have been killed in almost 1,500 attacks by Israeli settlers and soldiers this year. Three Israelis have been killed by Palestinians in 2026. The West Bank has been occupied by Israel since 1967, and the recent deaths follow a report by Human Rights Watch released on Thursday regarding the situation in the territory.
Broader institutional concerns have emerged regarding the E1 settlement project, which would cleave the West Bank in two. The United Kingdom, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Canada, and Norway described Israel’s opening of construction tenders for the project as “unacceptable,” arguing it violates the territorial contiguity of the Palestinian territories.
