Two Youths Shot and Killed, Dozens Detained in Escalating West Bank Raids

July 24, 2025 News
Ahmad Ali Asaad Ashira al-Salah, aged 15, and Mohammad Khaled Aliyan Issa, aged 17, were killed in the occupied West Bank. (Photo: via social media)

By Palestine Chronicle Staff  

The latest raids come just one day after the Israeli parliament (Knesset) approved a motion calling for Israeli annexation of the occupied West Bank.

Israeli army forces shot and killed two Palestinian youths and detained dozens of others during a large-scale across the occupied West Bank on Thursday.

In the town of al-Khadr, south of Bethlehem, Ahmad Ali Asaad Ashira al-Salah, aged 15, and Mohammad Khaled Aliyan Issa, aged 17, were killed after Israeli troops opened gunfire on a group of youth near the al-Abara area, along Route 60, the official Palestinian news agency WAFA reported, citing the Health Ministry.

The army forces abducted the bodies of the two youths. Two others were injured and transferred to local hospitals.

According to WAFA, the Palestine Red Crescent Society (PRCS) said its medical team was denied access by the soldiers to provide urgent aid to the wounded.

The latest killings raises to three the number of Palestinians killed in 24 hours in the West Bank.

Several Towns Raided

On Wednesday evening, Ibrahim Hamran, 14, succumbed to wounds sustained earlier in the day, Al Mayadeen reported. He had been shot by Israeli forces near the town of Arraba, south of Jenin.

The West Bank raids extended into several other areas including Dura al-Qara and al-Tira neighborhood in Ramallah, the city of Hebron (al-Khalil), and the town of Beit Ummar, the report stated. In Areeha, occupation troops stormed Aqabat Jabr refugee camp.

In Nablus, forces raided the al-Makhfiyya neighborhood, arresting brothers Zaid and Mohammad al-Kilani, along with their father. Witnesses reported that all three were severely beaten, and their home was ransacked, the report noted.

Amid the military escalation, illegal settlers seized new plots of Palestinian farmland in Asira al-Qibliya and Burin, south of Nablus, expanding illegal outposts, Al Mayadeen reported.

Settler Attacks

Meanwhile, settlers destroyed grape crops in Susiya village, located in the Masafer Yatta region south of al-Khalil, causing further damage to local agricultural areas.

An elderly Palestinian woman sustained bruises and contusions on Thursday after dozens of settlers attacked homes in Masafer Yatta, WAFA reported.

Media activist Osama Makhamreh told WAFA that the settlers, heavily guarded by the Israeli army, attacked the homes of residents in the Sha’b al-Batm area of Masafer Yatta.

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The settlers reportedly hurled stones at windows, solar panels, and residential structures.

The attack resulted in Subha al-Najjar, an elderly woman, sustaining bruises and contusions. Al-Najjar was later rushed to a nearby hospital for medical assistance.

Makhareh noted that daily attacks on local residents and their properties by settlers continue in Masafer Yatta, and are often carried out under the protection of the Israeli army.

Ongoing Provocations

A group of Israeli settlers on Thursday morning released their livestock among the homes of Palestinian residents in the village of Shalla al-Auja, north of the occupied West Bank city of Jericho, WAFA reported.

The Al-Baidar Organization for the Defense of Bedouin Rights confirmed that the settler attacks are part of a series of ongoing provocations aimed at intimidating local residents and  threatening to forcibly displace the population, the report stated.

The organization said these practices represent a direct violation of the residents’ right to live peacefully and securely in their villages and on their land, and warned that such assaults and violations further exacerbate the social and economic vulnerability of the population.

Attempt to Steal Livestock

Elsewhere, settlers carried out an attack on the outskirts of the village of al-Mughayyir, located northeast of the city Ramallah, and attempted to steal livestock owned by Palestinian residents, WAFA reported.

The report stated that settlers broke into the Marj Sa’i plain and attempted to steal sheep belonging to Anis Abu Aliya. However, villagers confronted the assailants and forced them to withdraw.

The area has been witnessing a surge in attacks carried out by settlers that include setting fire to Palestinian lands and vandalizing their properties, particularly after the establishment of a new illegal outpost nearby, the report noted.

Knesset Vote on Annexation

The latest raids come just one day after the Israeli parliament (Knesset) approved a motion calling for Israeli annexation of the occupied West Bank.

Knesset Votes for Non-Binding Motion to Annex Occupied West Bank 

Although non-binding, the 71-13 vote signals growing institutional support within  Israel for the formal application of Israeli authority over Palestinian land, including the Jordan Valley and other areas already under military occupation, Al Mayadeen reported.

(WAFA, Al Mayadeen, PC)

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