As of August 22, 2026, a 17-year-old Palestinian has been killed and another person critically injured in a settler attack in the occupied West Bank near Hebron. The United Nations has called for Palestinians to be protected and for perpetrators to be held accountable, noting that 22 Palestinians have been killed in settler attacks this year.
Violence Escalates in the Occupied West Bank: Rising Casualties and International Concern
Incidents in Mukhmas and Nablus
Palestinian teen shot and killed in West Bank attack
The killing near Hebron follows a series of lethal encounters across the territory. 19-year-old Palestinian-American citizen Nasrallah Mohammed Jamal Abu Siam was shot by an Israeli settler in the village of Mukhmas near Ramallah. According to the Palestinian Health Ministry, Abu Siam died from his wounds late on a Wednesday. A relative of Abu Siam stated that settlers had raided the village to steal sheep, and when villagers attempted to intervene, the settlers opened fire. The Palestinian Authority’s official news agency, WAFA, reported that five people were injured in the attack, three of whom sustained bullet wounds.
Separately, in the northern West Bank, 17-year-old Mohammad Hanani died on a Sunday from wounds sustained by Israeli army fire. The Palestinian Health Ministry stated that Hanani breathed his last
in the town of Beit Furik, east of Nablus. According to WAFA, Hanani had been shot in the head the previous Saturday evening during an Israeli military raid, an operation that also left a 16-year-old injured.
U.S. Diplomatic Response
Israeli settler killed Palestinian-American teen in the West Bank
The death of the Palestinian-American citizen prompted a response from U.S. officials. An embassy official told Reuters on a Thursday that the U.S. Department of State considers the safety and security of U.S. citizens overseas to be its highest priority. Several U.S. citizens, including activist Ayşenur Ezgi Eygi, have been killed by Israeli forces or settlers in the West Bank over the past two years.
Casualties in Al-Mughayyir
Israeli gunfire kills Palestinian teenager in occupied West Bank
Violence has also centered on the village of Al-Mughayyir, nine miles northeast of Ramallah. Authorities reported that an Israeli army reservist shot and killed 14-year-old Aws Al-Naasan and 32-year-old Jihad Abu Naim near a school on a Tuesday morning. Witness Kazem Al-Hajj Mohammad stated that school administrators had instructed parents to retrieve their children when settlers and the army arrived, but they were met with tear gas and gunfire. This is our daily reality,
Mohammad said, describing the role of settlers and the army as interchangeable
amid land grabs and livestock seizures.
The Israeli military stated the gunman was a civilian reservist who was not mobilized and that the incident was under investigation. Al-Mughayyir has faced frequent clashes, with residents reporting dozens of attacks in 2025, including arson and lethal shootings. The village is now encircled by eight settler outposts, including Adei Ad, which was legalized by the Israeli government in December.
Concerns Over Accountability
Human rights groups and the United Nations have raised alarms regarding the lack of accountability for security forces and settlers. In a separate incident in Jenin, two Palestinian men, 26-year-old Al-Muntasir Abdullah and 37-year-old Yousef Asasa, were killed by Israeli border police. United Nations human rights office spokesperson Jeremy Laurence described the incident as yet another apparent summary execution
after video footage appeared to show the men surrendering while unarmed.
Israeli authorities issued a joint statement claiming the men were wanted individuals affiliated with a terror network,
though they did not specify the accusations or provide evidence. Mahmoud Asasa, the brother of Yousef Asasa, criticized the action, stating that while a person who raises his hands and surrenders can be arrested, killing him in such a brutal manner is entirely wrong.
According to UN data, nearly 700 Palestinians were displaced due to settler attacks in 2026. While the Israeli military frequently cites investigations into such incidents, indictments remain rare. The monitoring group Yesh Din reported that at the end of 2025, only 2% of hundreds of documented cases of settler violence since October 7, 2023, had resulted in indictments.