Israeli Settlers and Soldiers Kill Two Palestinians in Separate West Bank Shootings

Two Palestinians were killed in separate incidents in the Israeli-occupied West Bank on Friday, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry.

In the first incident, in Sa'ir, north of Hebron, Israeli settlers shot dead 17-year-old Karim Sanad Raja Shalaldeh and wounded an elderly man. The Health Ministry said the shooting followed alleged rock-throwing by Palestinians. The teenager's father told the Associated Press at the hospital that Israeli settlers had killed his son. The Israeli military said soldiers were sent to Sa'ir after Palestinians threw rocks at Israeli civilians present in the area without prior authorisation. Several Israelis were injured, and a security official opened fire. A 70-year-old man was also wounded in the shooting, the Palestinian news agency Wafa reported.

Second shooting in Jenin

In a separate incident, the Palestinian General Authority for Civil Affairs told the Health Ministry that 58-year-old Fathi Khazem was fatally shot by Israeli forces during a raid in Jenin early Friday. An anonymous Israeli military official alleged Khazem tried to stab an Israeli soldier during the operation. No Israeli soldiers were hurt.

According to the Israeli official, the man killed was the father of Raed Khazem, who shot and killed three people in Tel Aviv in April 2022 before being killed by Israeli forces following a large manhunt. Israeli authorities had at the time demanded Fathi turn himself in. Another of Fathi's sons, Abdul Rahman Hazem, was killed in September 2022 during an Israeli military raid on the Jenin refugee camp.

Escalating violence

Violence has sharply escalated this year in the West Bank, occupied by Israel since 1967. Palestinian officials say at least 87 Palestinians have been killed in almost 1,500 attacks by Israeli settlers and soldiers so far in 2026, while three Israelis have been killed by Palestinians during the same period.