Published on October 24, 2025 A Palestinian teenager has died from wounds sustained during an Israeli military raid on the Askar refugee camp in Nablus, marking another deadly episode in the occupied West Bank as Israeli settler violence intensifies. Eighteen-year-old Mohammed Ahmed Abu Haneen succumbed to his injuries on Friday, according to the Wafa news agency, amid continuing Israeli operations and arrests across the territory. The Israeli army confirmed that 44 Palestinians were detained over the past week in operations carried out across several West Bank towns, including Hebron, Tubas, and Tal. Troops reportedly seized weapons and conducted interrogations, claiming the arrests targeted individuals “wanted by Israel.” The killing of Abu Haneen follows that of 10-year-old Mohammad al-Hallaq, who was shot dead by Israeli forces last week while playing football in Hebron. According to the United Nations, more than 1,000 Palestinians — including 213 children and 20 women — have been killed by Israeli forces and settlers in the West Bank since October 7, 2023. At least seven victims were people with disabilities, the UN added. Despite a US-brokered ceasefire in Gaza, reports indicate that Israeli violence and settler aggression in the West Bank have intensified. The ceasefire led to the release of nearly 2,000 Palestinian detainees, many showing signs of torture, while dozens of returned bodies have been found mutilated and bearing evidence of execution. Meanwhile, settlers — often operating with military protection — have launched near-daily attacks on Palestinian communities around Ramallah. Early Friday, settlers set fire to several vehicles in Deir Dibwan, east of Ramallah, and assaulted farmers harvesting olives in Beit Iksa, northwest of Jerusalem. Witnesses described the assaults as coordinated and protected by Israeli soldiers. On Sunday, 53-year-old Afaf Abu Alia was brutally attacked by a group of settlers in Turmus Aya while picking olives, sustaining a brain haemorrhage. “The attack started with about 10 settlers, but more kept joining,” one witness told Al Jazeera. “By the end, there were at least 40 of them — all protected by the army.” Data from the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) show that settlers have carried out nearly 3,000 attacks on Palestinians across the West Bank in the past two years, highlighting a surge in violence and lawlessness under military protection. The UN Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) also warned of “a sharp escalation in violence” since October 2023, denouncing Israel’s continued settlement expansion and de facto annexation of Palestinian lands as “a gross violation of international law.” Amid the mounting violence, the US has reiterated its opposition to Israel’s proposed annexation of the occupied West Bank. President Donald Trump said on Thursday that “Israel is not going to do anything with the West Bank,” dismissing a recent Israeli parliamentary vote to formalise annexation. Vice President JD Vance, currently visiting Israel, echoed the position, calling the move “a very stupid political stunt” and affirming that annexation “will not happen under this administration.”
