Israeli army, settlers kill 2 Palestinians in separate West Bank incidents

What the report says

Israeli settlers and Israeli forces killed two Palestinians in separate incidents in the occupied West Bank on Friday, according to Al Jazeera’s report citing Palestinian officials and local sources. The dead were identified as 17-year-old Karim Sanad Shalaldeh in the Hebron area and 58-year-old Fathi Khazem in Jenin.

The Palestinian Ministry of Health said Shalaldeh was shot during an attack by settlers in Khirbet Hamroush and later died of a chest wound. Local reports said armed settlers raided the area, fired at residents and set Palestinian homes on fire. A 70-year-old man was also injured in the same incident.

In Jenin, the Palestinian General Authority for Civil Affairs said Khazem was killed during an Israeli military raid on his home. The Israeli army said he had tried to stab troops, while Palestinian authorities said emergency crews were kept from reaching the scene and his body was withheld from burial. Al Jazeera also reported that a 14-year-old boy was wounded in a separate raid near Jenin, and that six people were arrested during another operation in the city.

The report placed the killings within a wider surge in West Bank violence, including settler attacks, military raids and forced displacement. It also cited Human Rights Watch and UN officials warning that settlement expansion and settler violence are worsening conditions for Palestinians, amid international criticism of new Israeli settlement plans in the E1 area.