Two Palestinians, one of them a 14-year-old boy, lost their lives in the Israeli-held West Bank on Tuesday following an incident where Israeli settlers and soldiers reportedly fired shots, eyewitnesses disclosed. Meanwhile, in Gaza, health authorities confirmed that two Palestinians were killed in Israeli attacks.
According to the Palestinian Ministry of Health, Aws al-Naasan, 14, and Jihad Abu Naim, 32, were fatally wounded during an assault by settlers on al-Mughayyir village, resulting in injuries to three others. Amin Abu Ulaya, the local council head, informed Reuters that settlers and soldiers intruded into the village and opened fire at a school, targeting students initially and subsequently others who arrived on the scene.
The Israeli military stated that troops were dispatched to the al-Mughayyir vicinity following reports of stones being hurled at an Israeli civilian vehicle carrying passengers, including a reserve soldier, who alighted from the vehicle and shot at individuals deemed as “suspects” in the area. Upon their arrival, soldiers intervened to disperse what was described as a violent confrontation.
The military acknowledged the reports of two Palestinians killed and several others injured, mentioning that the incident was being investigated. Abu Ulaya expressed, “This led to the killing of a student and another person,” recounting scenes of chaos in the village as parents rushed to the school in search of their children.
In a surge of violence, the shooting incident in al-Mughayyir, situated approximately 25 kilometers north of Ramallah, represents the latest episode of what human rights organizations have characterized as an escalation of violence against Palestinians by Israeli settlers and troops.
Kathem Al-Haj-Ahmed, a 57-year-old resident of al-Mughayyir, recounted how the settlers initiated the attack on the village school. He lamented, “This is the harsh reality in al-Mughayyer village; their objective is to displace us, with both the army and settlers exchanging roles among themselves.”
Al-Mughayyir has been a focal point of clashes between Palestinians and Israeli settlers, with Palestinians reporting numerous assaults in 2025, including fatal shootings, arson, and vandalism. The primary road leading to al-Mughayyir has frequently been blocked by a military checkpoint, resulting in residents gradually losing access to their agricultural lands and olive groves.
Israeli settlements in the West Bank are considered illegal by the United Nations and most countries. Palestinians anticipate that the West Bank will be part of a prospective independent state. Under the current right-wing Israeli administration, the expansion of West Bank settlements has surged, with around 700,000 Jewish settlers currently residing there alongside approximately 2.7 million Palestinians.
Numerous groves were destroyed during an Israeli military operation last summer, triggered by an alleged shooting incident by a Palestinian gunman targeting Israeli settlers grazing sheep near the village. Presently, eight settler outposts encircle al-Mughayyir, including Adei Ad, which was officially sanctioned by the Israeli government in December. Mohammed Naasan, another 14-year-old, lost his life there in January.
Al-Naasan and Abu Naim are the most recent casualties this year in the occupied West Bank, where 10 individuals have been killed by Israeli settlers, surpassing the total number of deaths caused by settlers in 2025. The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs reported that 240 Palestinians lost their lives in the region last year, with the majority attributed to Israel’s military and nine to settlers.
Critics have raised concerns about the Israeli government’s actions, pointing to what they term as ‘de facto annexation.’ Various rights groups caution that the line between official military actions and settler violence is becoming increasingly blurred. Yesh Din, an Israeli advocacy group monitoring West Bank violence, highlighted instances where lethal violence was carried out by “settler-soldiers” from reserve units, whether on duty or off duty.
Yesh Din’s February report titled “Settlers in Uniform” emphasized the misuse of military equipment by settlers engaging in illegal activities against Palestinians. Instances were cited, such as an active reservist in civilian attire firing shots in Deir Jarir village and a reservist shooting and killing a Palestinian in the same village in April.