In the occupied West Bank, where soldiers have been conducting deadly raids for months and settlers have been brutally abusing civilians unchecked, with the support of the military, four Palestinians have been killed, including a teenager.
In an Israeli-occupied town called Kafr Malek, northeast of Ramallah, three Palestinians were killed in an Israeli-occupied area, including the teenager, who was shot by Israeli forces. In the settler attack, seven people suffered injuries.
According to local sources, Israeli settlers reportedly attacked the town, torching homes and cars as nearby villages’ residents fought back. Israeli soldiers shot live rounds and provided protection for the settlers.
At least five Palestinians who were shot, with some of them in critical condition, were treated by the Palestine Red Crescent Society, according to the organization.
According to Palestinian Vice President Hussein al-Sheikh, the settlers were “under the protection of the Israeli army.”
In a message on X, he continued, “We call on the international community to immediately intervene to protect our Palestinian people.”
The Palestinian Ministry of Health reported that during a raid on al-Yamoun, a town west of Jenin, Israeli troops shot dead a 15-year-old Palestinian boy.
Rayan Tamer Houshieh, a teenager, was shot in the neck, according to the ministry, and he died from his injuries.
The Palestinian Red Crescent declared that its teams had handled “a very serious case” involving a teenager before declaring him dead.
In the occupied area, a teenager has been reported dead twice in the past two days as a result of the al-Yamoun incident.
Ammar Hamayel, 13, was killed by Israeli fire in Kafr Malek, according to the Health Ministry on Monday.
More than 3 million Palestinians reside in the occupied West Bank under harsh Israeli military rule, with the Palestinian Authority ruling only in a few areas that are separated from one another by a myriad of Israeli checkpoints.
Israel has so far established more than 500, 000 settlers in the West Bank, including Palestinians who reside illegally on private property in the West Bank and who occupy East Jerusalem.
Israeli security forces conduct daily raids.
Palestinian suffering in the occupied West Bank has been severe, with hundreds of deaths, thousands of displaced people, house demolitions, and significant destruction since October 7, 2023, despite Israel’s more recent genocidal conflict in Gaza receiving more attention.
The “wave of renewed violence” by Israeli settlers and armed forces in the West Bank earlier this year has sparked the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) in Palestine’s concern.
UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk urged Israel to immediately and completely stop all settlement activities, evacuate all settlers, stop the forced displacement of the Palestinian population, and stop and punish attacks by its security forces and settlers.
Separately, according to several local media reports, an 66-year-old woman was shot in the head and killed by Israeli forces earlier on Wednesday in a raid on the Shu’fat refugee camp north of occupied East Jerusalem.
Zahriya Joudeh al-Obaid was given as the woman’s name by the Jerusalem governorate.
When Israeli forces stormed the area, her husband, a 67-year-old resident of the camp, claimed his wife was standing on the roof of their home. He confirmed that she was unarmed and that she had not threatened anyone.
Shu’fat has seen numerous Israeli raids that, in addition to other refugee camps in Israeli-occupied areas, have frequently resulted in arrests, injuries, and deaths.
According to UN statistics, large-scale military incursions into Jenin and its refugee camp, as well as Tulkarem and the Nur Shams refugee camp, have led to the displacement and destruction of at least 40, 000 people in the northern West Bank.
