Palestinian teenager with US citizenship killed by Israeli forces in West Bank
A Palestinian teenager with US citizenship was killed by Israeli forces in the West Bank town of Turmus Ayya, Palestinian officials said on Sunday, with the Israeli military saying it shot a 'terrorist' who endangered civilians by hurling rocks.
The incident is the latest in a surge of violence and near-daily confrontations in the volatile West Bank, where settler violence and clashes between Israeli forces and armed Palestinians have kept it on edge.
Adeeb Lafi, the mayor of Turmus Ayya, said earlier in the day that Omar Mohammad Rabea, 14, was shot along with two other teenagers by an Israeli settler at the entrance to the town and that the Israeli army pronounced him dead after detaining him.
However, the Palestinian foreign ministry condemned the incident as an 'extra-judicial killing' by Israeli forces during a raid in the town, saying it was the result of Israel's 'continued impunity'.
'During a counterterrorism activity in the area of Turmus Aya, IDF soldiers identified three terrorists who hurled rocks toward the highway, thus endangering civilians driving,' the Israeli army said in a statement.
'The soldiers opened fire toward the terrorists who were endangering civilians, eliminating one terrorist and hitting two additional terrorists.'
Settler violence in the West Bank, including incursions into occupied territory and raids on Bedouin villages and encampments, has intensified since the war in Gaza began in Oct 2023.
The UK, European countries and the previous US administration under President Joe Biden imposed sanctions on violent Israeli settlers, though the White House under President Donald Trump removed these sanctions.
The Israeli military has also in recent months carried out what it called a 'large-scale military operation' in the West Bank to root out militants.
Hamas, based in Gaza, has in recent years expanded its reach into the West Bank, where the Palestinian Authority, dominated by the rival Fatah faction, exercises limited governance.
The US Department of State has not commented on the teenager's death.
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