Israeli forces shoot dead two Palestinian teens in occupied West Bank

Israeli occupation forces have shot dead two Palestinian teenagers and wounded some others during a military raid in an area of the occupied West Bank.

In a statement released on Friday, the Palestinian Health Ministry said that Israeli forces fatally shot two teenagers overnight in the town of Kufr Aqab, north of occupied al-Quds.

"The young man Amr Khaled Ahmed Al-Marbou (18) and the boy Sami Ibrahim Sami Mashayekh (16) were martyred by occupation forces' gunfire in the town of Kufr Aqab near Ramallah," the ministry said in a statement.

The Palestinian WAFA news agency reported that Israeli forces had raided Kfar Aqab overnight, deploying forces to the streets and on top of the town's buildings before opening fire.

The Palestinian Red Crescent reported transporting two people from Kufr Aqab to a hospital during the night, one with a "very serious live bullet injury" and the second with a "live bullet injury to the chest".

Adi al-Shurfa, a friend of Marbou who witnessed the incident, said that the pair were out on the street during clashes between Israeli forces and local Palestinians, and were shot by the Israeli forces.

Shurfa further stated Marbou was hit "in the chest, in the heart. He collapsed and was martyred on the spot," he said, insisting that he had not been throwing stones or taking part in the clashes.

Sources said at least three others were also injured in the raid on Kafr Aqab.

The casualties come as a number of other areas in the occupied West Bank have seen military raids and settler attacks. The Israeli military carried out incursions in Ramallah, Jenin, Tulkarm, and Qalqilya.

In another incident, Israeli forces fired shots towards a group of Palestinians departing a mosque in al-Mughayyir village, near Ramallah, in the occupied West Bank, according to the Wafa news agency.

Meanwhile, Israeli settlers set fire to a car parts yard near Nablus, destroying dozens of vehicles and causing significant damage.

Separately, Israeli settlers set fire to six tourist villas in the occupied West Bank, the Wafa news agency reported.

The Palestinian-owned properties were under construction on a hill between the villages of al-Lubban Asharqiya and Ammouriya to the south of the city of Nablus. The site’s guard suffered burn injuries while attempting to extinguish the flames.

A plant nursery in the town of Deir Sharaf, west of Nablus, was also vandalised by Israeli settlers.

The incidents come amid surging attacks by Israeli forces and settlers in the West Bank.

A report by an international rights group released on Thursday noted that Israel had committed “war crimes” and “ethnic cleansing” in the West Bank by displacing tens of thousands.

A recent report by the Guardian said attacks by extremist Israeli settlers against Palestinians across the occupied West Bank have increased since the Gaza ceasefire took effect last month.

West Bank settler violence surges after Gaza ceasefire: Report

The UN logged more than 260 attacks resulting in Palestinian casualties or damage to property in the West Bank in October alone.

The UN logged more than 260 attacks resulting in Palestinian casualties or damage to property in the West Bank in October alone – the highest monthly count since they began monitoring in 2006.

There has also been a rise in violence involving the Israeli military. 

The total number of Palestinians killed by Israeli forces and settlers since October 7, 2023, in the West Bank, including East al-Quds, is now well over 1,000.

One in five of the victims is a child, including more than 200 boys and seven girls. The number also includes 20 women and at least seven people with disabilities.

The developments come as Western governments have largely supported the Israeli regime’s genocide in Gaza since October 7, 2023, which has killed nearly 70,000 Palestinians, primarily women and children.

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