Israelis have shot dead two teenagers in a Palestinian village encircled by settlers and Israeli troops have razed an entire village outside Hebron, the latest attacks in a surge of Israeli terror and ethnic cleansing across the occupied West Bank. The shootings targeted Khalil Abu Alia, 16, who was about to start 11th grade at the al-Mughayyir boys school, and 19-year-old Omar al-Nassan, who graduated from the same institution with top marks this summer. The teenagers were killed soon after sunset, when a group of settlers entered the village under police and military escort to steal dozens of sheep from a Palestinian home, village residents and Israeli activists said.
Snipers took up position on rooftops and one shot Abu Alia in the neck, his English teacher, Waheed Abu Naim, said in a phone interview. The boy was on the doorstep of his home when he was targeted. Al-Nassan was shot twice, the second time in the back, residents and activists said.
Both had died before they made it to hospital. A spokesperson for the Israeli military said Israeli police, army and settlers entered the village to take sheep claimed by settlers from a Palestinian home. The spokesperson provided no evidence of ownership, theft or investigation into stolen goods.
When Palestinians resisted seizure of the sheep by throwing stones and cinder blocks, the troops shot them, the spokesperson said. Hits were identified.” Abu Alia was killed by a soldier. It was not clear whether Al-Nassan was shot by a soldier or a settler.
Israeli soldiers and militants had already killed three other students from their school’s 470-strong student body this year. The other victims were a 17-year-old player from the Palestinian youth football team shot in June, a 14-year-old gunned down at the school gate in April, and another 14-year-old killed outside the village mosque in January. His brother was also killed by settlers in April.
They have built a higher wall around the school, topped by a fence, and strengthened gates to the compound. They are also making teaching contingency plans, because the village has been under tightening siege for the last two weeks. Since late 2023, Israeli barricades blocked all but one road into the village, and at least eight settler outposts surround it in all directions.
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