As part of the systematic violence Palestinians endure under Israeli occupation, two Palestinians, one of them a teenager, were killed in separate incidents by Israeli soldiers and an armed settler in the occupied West Bank. These killings come amid escalating violations against unarmed civilians, with no adherence to international humanitarian law.
According to the Palestinian Ministry of Health, 17-year-old Jamil Atef Hannani died from severe chest wounds sustained during confrontations in Beit Furik, east of Nablus, after Israeli soldiers opened fire on local youths. Paramedics reported that efforts to revive him were unsuccessful due to the gravity of his injuries.
In a separate incident, Ahmad Rabhi Al-Atrash was shot dead by an Israeli settler at the northern entrance of Hebron. Ambulance crews were prevented by Israeli forces from reaching him—an act that constitutes a clear violation of the occupying power’s obligation to protect civilians and provide medical access.
These killings are part of an ongoing escalation in the West Bank since the start of the war on Gaza in October 2023. Since then, over 1,065 Palestinians have been killed and around 10,000 injured by Israeli forces and settlers. The use of lethal force reflects a systematic policy aimed at collective punishment and suppression of the occupied population.
Under the Fourth Geneva Convention of 1949, the West Bank is classified as occupied territory, where targeting civilians and obstructing medical aid are strictly prohibited. Article 16 specifically guarantees the right of the wounded to receive treatment without interference.
The continued commission of such crimes, combined with the Israeli military’s failure to prevent or punish them, reinforces Israel’s legal responsibility both for direct actions and for negligence. These practices fall within a consistent pattern of grave violations that could be categorised as war crimes and crimes against humanity under the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court.
The repeated incidents of unlawful killings in the West Bank reveal that such acts are no longer exceptions, they have become embedded in the daily mechanics of occupation. Civilians are treated as security threats rather than protected persons under the law.
In the absence of accountability, the international justice system risks erosion, while the occupation continues unchecked, fuelled by violence and shielded from responsibility.
