Israeli settler kills 16-year-old Palestinian in West Bank, mayor says

An Israeli settler shot dead a 16-year-old Palestinian in the town of Tuqu' on Tuesday after the funeral of another teenager, the town's mayor said.

Violence has escalated in the West Bank since the beginning of the war in Gaza in October 2023. Attacks by Israeli settlers against Palestinians in the West Bank have increased sharply, with the UN reporting the highest number of attacks on record in October.

An Israeli security source said an Israeli civilian fired on masked individuals throwing stones and bottles towards Israeli civilian vehicles driving along a main road in the area. The source said the Israeli civilian was taken for questioning by the Israeli police.

The Israeli police did not respond to a request for comment.

"Today, after the funeral of 16-year-old Ammar Sabah, who was killed yesterday by the Israeli army in the town centre, a number of youths were gathered by the main street when a settler shot 16-year-old Muheeb Jibril in the head," Tuqu' Mayor Mohammed al-Badan told Reuters by telephone.

Israeli forces killed Sabah on Monday during a military raid on the town, the Palestinian health ministry said. The military said the incident was under review. It said rocks were thrown at soldiers who used riot dispersal means and later responded with fire.

The West Bank is home to 2.7 million Palestinians who have limited self-rule under Israeli military occupation. Hundreds of thousands of Israelis have settled there.

Most world powers deem Israel's settlements, on land it captured in a 1967 war, illegal, and numerous UN Security Council resolutions have called on Israel to halt all settlement activity. Israel disputes the view that its settlements are unlawful and it cites biblical and historical ties to the land.

"The United States remains focused on keeping Israel secure and Gaza and the West Bank stable," Deputy US Ambassador to the UN Jennifer Locetta told the UN Security Council on Tuesday. "President Trump has been perfectly clear that the United States expects the violence in the West Bank to end, and that the United States will not allow the annexation of the West Bank," she said.

Separately, the Israeli military said on Tuesday it planned to demolish several structures in the northern Nur al-Shams refugee camp, a longstanding camp in the West Bank outside the city of Tulkarm. It said the camps in the area "serve as centres of gravity for terrorist activity". Palestinian media reported the mayor of Tulkarm had condemned the move as "a fully fledged crime".

In March, Israeli military demolished large sections of the camp to clear a broad pathway for military vehicles, displacing thousands, residents told Reuters at the time.

The military has tightened restrictions on movement and carried out sweeping raids in several cities, citing the need to root out suspected fighters. 

Human Rights Watch accused Israel in November of war crimes and crimes against humanity over what it said were forced expulsions in the West Bank. Israel denies committing such crimes.