Two Palestinian teenagers have been shot dead in the West Bank as the military razed an entire village near Hebron in the latest escalation of violence in the occupied territory. Khalil Abu Alia, 16, a high school student, and Omar al-Nassan, 19, were shot after a group of settlers under police and army escort entered the al-Mughayyir village near Ramallah on Wednesday to take sheep from a Palestinian home, local residents said. The army claimed its troops were providing security to police officers and Israeli settlers who had gone to take sheep claimed by them.
The military offered no evidence of ownership of the livestock. Snipers climbed on rooftops and shot Abu Alia while he was on the doorstep of his house, his teacher Waheed Abu Naim told the Guardian. They also shot Al-Nassan twice, the second time in the back, the villagers said.
Both died before they could reach hospital. Abu Alia was killed by a soldier but it wasn’t clear whether Al-Nassan was shot by a soldier or a settler, the paper reported. The Israeli army claimed its soldiers fired on "key instigators" of a “violent disturbance”, apparently referring to an attempt by the Palestinians to resist the settlers by throwing stones and cinder blocks.
The killings at al-Mughayyir come amid intensifying settler violence in the West Bank, where a siege by settlers of Qusra village in August drew international condemnation. At least 79 Palestinians, including 19 children, have been killed in the West Bank by Jewish settlers or Israeli forces since the beginning of 2026, according to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. Israeli soldiers and settlers had previously killed three students from the al-Mughayyir boys school, where Abu Alia was due to start his grade 11, Mr Abu Naim, who taught all five boys killed in recent weeks, said.
Rights groups say the increasing settler presence on the edge of Palestinian villages, like Qusra, is part of a wider effort to seize more land from Palestinians, further eating into territory where Palestinians aim to establish a state. The latest killings of the Palestinian teenagers came after foreign secretary Ed Miliband stated on Tuesday that the UK would “reset” its policy on Israel in the coming weeks, as one of his ministers suggested goods coming out of Israeli settlements in the West Bank could be subject to sanctions. Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Extract — continue reading at the source.
