Palestinian teenager shot dead by Israeli forces during settler attack in West Bank

A Palestinian teenager died this Wednesday after being shot by Israeli security forces in an attack carried out by settlers against the West Bank town of Jaljulia, located north of Ramallah, according to the Palestinian authorities.

The Palestinian Ministry of Health has indicated in a brief statement that the deceased, Yusef Ali Yusef Kaabné, 16, “has fallen a martyr by occupation gunfire near the town of Jaljulia”, without the Israeli Army having commented on the incident for now.

According to information collected by the Palestinian news agency WAFA, the teenager was shot by Israeli forces during an attack by dozens of settlers against Jaljulia and nearby Abuein and Sinyil, incidents that also left four injured by rubber bullets.

Local sources cited by this media have reported that settlers have attacked several homes, harassed shepherds and stolen up to 700 heads of cattle in Sinyil. The Israeli authorities have not commented for now on the event, which takes place within the framework of the increase in settler attacks and security operations following the attacks of October 7, 2023.

The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) reported on Tuesday that at least 70 Palestinian children have been killed and another 850 have been injured in the West Bank since January 2025 due to these operations, which implies that, on average, at least one Palestinian child has died every week since January in this period.

“Children are paying an intolerable price for the escalation of militarized operations and settler attacks throughout the occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem,” said UNICEF spokesperson James Elder, who highlighted that attacks by settlers have also reached “historic levels.”