Palestinian teenage footballer dies a week after Israeli settler attack
Fadi Hamdallah al-Nassan, 17, a player for the Palestinian national youth team, died from a gunshot wound sustained when Israeli settlers attacked his West Bank village.
A Palestinian teenager who played for his country's national youth football team has died from a gunshot wound sustained when Israeli settlers attacked his village in the occupied West Bank. Fadi Hamdallah al-Nassan, 17, was shot on July 11 and succumbed to his injuries on Saturday.
His death has drawn new attention to escalating violence by Israeli settlers and soldiers against Palestinian communities across the West Bank, territory Israel has occupied since 1967. Settlement building has expanded at an accelerating rate despite being illegal under international law. Rights groups and the United Nations have described Israel's actions in the West Bank as a system of apartheid.
Al-Nassan played for Al-Mughayyir Club and was a member of the Palestinian national youth team. Dozens of mourners dressed in black carried his body from the Palestine Medical Complex in Ramallah to his home village of al-Mughayyir for burial on Saturday.
The Palestine Football Association (PFA) said Israeli forces shot al-Nassan in the thigh while settlers were attacking the village. His leg was later amputated, and he died from the injuries. The association stated that with his death, the number of martyrs from the Palestinian sports movement since October 7, 2023, rises to 1,013, including 568 from the Palestinian football family.
His father, Hamdallah al-Nassan, said his son ran towards the scene after hearing women and girls screaming. "He went to the scene of the attack and was killed," he said. His mother, Hanan al-Nassan, described him as a good student and athlete who loved playing football.
Separately on Saturday, Israeli settlers and forces set fire to Palestinian property in two attacks in the occupied West Bank, destroying olive trees near Ramallah and a family home near Nablus. Israeli forces also raided homes near Jenin. In Deir Qaddis, soldiers fired live rounds and tear gas at farmers, starting fires that burned through olive groves. Civil defence crews were prevented from reaching the site.
