Escalating West Bank Violence Claims Lives of Two Palestinians in Separate Incidents Involving Settlers and Soldiers

Relatives of Karim Sanad Shalaldeh, 17, mourn after he is fatally shot by Israeli settlers in an incident that highlights the worsening crisis in the occupied West Bank. A Palestinian teenager in Hebron and a former colonel in Jenin have been shot and killed in separate incidents involving Israeli settlers and soldiers, as escalating attacks and the rapid expansion of illegal settlements drive a wave of forced displacement.

The Palestinian Ministry of Health announced on Friday that 17-year-old Karim Sanad Shalaldeh was fatally shot during an Israeli settler attack in Khirbet Hamroush. Shalaldeh sustained a gunshot wound to the chest and was in critical condition before being pronounced dead. A 70-year-old man also suffered gunshot injuries in the same attack. Local sources informed the Palestinian news agency, Wafa, that large groups of armed Israeli settlers raided Khirbet Hamroush, opening fire on residents and setting Palestinian homes on fire.

In a separate incident on Friday morning, the Palestinian General Authority for Civil Affairs informed the Health Ministry that 58-year-old Fathi Khazem was fatally shot by Israeli forces in Jenin. The Israeli military was conducting a raid on the home of the retired colonel in the Palestinian National Security Forces when the shooting occurred. The Israeli military claimed Khazem attempted to stab Israeli troops during the operation, prompting soldiers to return fire and kill him. The Palestinian Health Ministry stated that the Israeli army withheld the victim's body from his family, while Wafa reported that forces blocked emergency services from reaching the house.

Earlier, the Palestinian Red Crescent Society reported that its teams treated a 14-year-old boy shot with live ammunition in the chest and back during an Israeli raid near Jenin, and he was subsequently transferred to a hospital. The Israeli military also detained six individuals during another raid on the city on Friday.

Amid ongoing raids across the occupied West Bank, Israeli settlers continued to besiege three Palestinian homes in Qusra, south of Nablus, for a 13th consecutive day under the protection of Israeli forces. Qusra Mayor Abdel Azim Wadi stated that forces and settlers prevented families in the Ras al-Ain area from moving freely, and seized one home to convert it into a military post while declaring the area a closed military zone. Wadi noted that the trapped families were facing shortages of food and medicine as supplies were blocked.

Francesca Albanese, UN special rapporteur for the occupied Palestinian territory, condemned the military on X, writing that soldiers and settlers cut water pipes while the siege in Qusra continues. A Human Rights Watch report released on Thursday stated that state-backed Israeli settler violence has fully or partially displaced 107 Palestinian communities in the occupied West Bank since January 2023.

Furthermore, Israeli plans to advance the E1 settlement project have drawn international condemnation. The United Kingdom, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Canada, and Norway issued a joint statement calling the opening of construction tenders for over 1,200 housing units unacceptable and contrary to the territorial contiguity of the Palestinian Territories.