Palestinian teenager killed by Israeli forces in the West Bank

7/4/2025 6:02

A Palestinian teenager

with U.S. citizenship was killed by Israeli forces in the West

Bank town of Turmus Ayya, Palestinian officials said on Sunday,

with the Israeli military saying it shot a "terrorist" who

endangered civilians by hurling rocks.



The incident is the latest in a surge of violence and

near-daily confrontations in the volatile West Bank, where

settler violence and clashes between Israeli forces and armed

Palestinians have kept it on edge.



The mayor of Turmus Ayya, Adeeb Lafi, told Reuters

earlier in the day that Omar Mohammad Rabea, 14, was shot along

with two other teenagers by an Israeli settler at the entrance

to Turmus Ayya and that the Israeli army pronounced him dead

after detaining him.



However, the Palestinian foreign ministry condemned the

incident as an "extra-judicial killing" by Israeli forces during

a raid in the town, saying it was the result of Israel's

"continued impunity".



"During a counterterrorism activity in the area of

Turmus Aya, IDF soldiers identified three terrorists who hurled

rocks toward the highway, thus endangering civilians driving,"

the Israeli army said in a statement.



"The soldiers opened fire toward the terrorists who were

endangering civilians, eliminating one terrorist and hitting two

additional terrorists."



Settler violence in the West Bank, including incursions into

occupied territory and raids on Bedouin villages and

encampments, has intensified since the Gaza war began in October

2023.



European countries and the previous U.S. administration

under President Joe Biden imposed sanctions on violent Israeli

settlers, though the White House under President Donald Trump

removed these sanctions.



The Israeli military has also in recent months carried what

it called a "large-scale military operation" in the West Bank to

root out militants.



Militant group Hamas, based in Gaza, has over recent

years expanded its reach in the West Bank, where the Palestinian

Authority, dominated by the rival Fatah faction, exercises

limited governance.