Israeli forces shot and killed two Palestinian teenagers and injured two more in the early hours of Thursday during a military raid in al-Khader, a town near Bethlehem in the occupied West Bank, according to the Palestinian Wafa news agency.
The victims were identified as Ahmad Ali Asaad Ashira al-Salah, 15, and Muhammad Khaled Alian Issa, 17. Their bodies were reportedly taken and withheld by Israeli soldiers.
The killings occurred as part of a wave of Israeli raids across the West Bank, where at least 25 Palestinians were arrested in several towns including Beit Ummar, Idhna, Ramallah, al-Mazraa ash-Sharqiya, Dura al-Qari, and Nablus.
🔥 Escalating Violence Since Gaza War
Violence in the occupied West Bank has surged since the Israeli war on Gaza began in October 2023. The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) reports that 948 Palestinians, including 204 children, have been killed in the West Bank by Israeli forces over this period.
Additionally, more than 2,200 Israeli settler attacks have resulted in over 5,200 injuries and forced nearly 36,000 Palestinians to flee their homes due to military operations, settler violence, and home demolitions.
🗣 “Making Palestinian Lives Impossible”
Amjad Abu El Ezz, an international relations lecturer at Arab American University, described the attacks and settler activity as part of a broader Israeli strategy to displace Palestinians and weaken the Palestinian Authority. He warned that the presence of over 700,000 armed settlers in the West Bank is contributing to “a parallel army” working with the official military to “build Israeli facts on the ground.”
🇮🇱 Israeli Parliament Backs West Bank Annexation
In a further development, the Israeli Knesset voted 71-13 in favor of a symbolic motion to annex the West Bank — referring to the region as “Judea, Samaria and the Jordan Valley.” Though non-binding, the vote signals growing internal support within Prime Minister Netanyahu’s coalition to formally apply Israeli sovereignty to the occupied territory.
The Palestinian Ministry of Foreign Affairs denounced the move as “colonial and racist,” while the Palestinian Mujahideen Movement called it a “dangerous escalation” that ignores international law.
