2 Palestinians, one of them 14, killed in alleged settler attack in West Bank
IDF suspends reservist said to open fire outside a school in al-Mughayyir, near Ramallah, says villagers were throwing stones at an Israeli vehicle
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Two Palestinians were killed and four were wounded by gunfire allegedly by Israeli settlers near the village of al-Mughayyir, in the Ramallah area of the West Bank, on Tuesday.
The shooting was alleged to have been carried out by a reservist in the Israel Defense Forces — video footage showed a uniformed man repeatedly firing a weapon — prompting the military to announce an investigation.
The reservist was later suspended from duty amid a Military Police investigation into the incident.
The shooting took place outside the village school. The Palestinian Authority Health Ministry identified the two victims as Aws Hamdi Al-Naasan, a 14-year-old student, and Marzouq Abu Naim, 32.
Imran Abu Awliya, a resident of al-Mughayyir, told The Times of Israel that the incident began when five settlers, some in civilian clothing and others in uniform, were spotted herding livestock near the village school, on the outskirts of the community.
According to Abu Awliya, students went outside to see who they were, at which point the settlers opened fire at the windows of the building. Al-Naasan had left his classroom to use the bathroom and was killed by the gunfire.
Parents and relatives were then promptly called to evacuate the students from the area and take them home for the rest of the day, Abu Awliya said. But when Abu Naim arrived to collect his relatives from the school, he too was shot dead, and four other people were wounded.
תיעוד מהירי במורייר שפורסם במקורות פלסטינים. במשך כחצי דקה נראה אדם לובש מדים שיורה בנשק ארוך לעבר הכפר. בתיעוד המקורי שהופץ (וחתכתי) הופיעה גם תמונת היורה לכאורה ופרטיו. הפלסטינים טוענים כי הוא זוהה ע"י התושבים.
מצה"ל נמסר כי "כוחות צה״ל קפצו למרחב הכפר אל מועייר שבחטיבת… https://t.co/3Vw9VMw95i pic.twitter.com/XRklEl5lVY— Nurit Yohanan (@nurityohanan) April 21, 2026
Footage circulating of the shooting showed a man who appeared to be in uniform firing a rifle several times over the course of around 30 seconds. It was not clear from the video whether that was the burst of gunfire that killed Al-Naasan or the later one in which Abu Naim was shot dead.
According to Palestinian sources, the reservist who opened fire was identified by residents of the village as a known settler.
IDF troops and police forces were dispatched to the scene, and according to the Palestinian Authority’s official Wafa news agency, they arrived at the same time as the Palestinian Red Crescent came to evacuate the wounded.
Abu Awliya said that the security forces used tear gas to disperse the crowds around the school.
The IDF confirmed on Tuesday afternoon that it had opened an investigation into the incident.
It said troops were dispatched to al-Mughayyir following reports of stones being hurled at a car with Israelis, one of whom was the reservist.
According to the military, the reservist got out of the vehicle and “opened fire on suspects in the village.”
It said that the troops who were dispatched to the scene were then required to “disperse the violent riot” that it claimed had erupted there.
The IDF said it was aware of the reports that two Palestinians were killed and others were wounded, and that the incident was under investigation, whose “findings will be forwarded to the authorities.”
The reservist involved was suspended from duty, and his weapon was confiscated.
One of the victims of the attack, 14-year-old Al-Naasan, was identified by Wafa as the son of Hamdi Taleb Al-Naasan, who was killed in a settler attack on al-Mughayyir in January 2019.
Tuesday’s shooting came amid a spate of violent attacks against Palestinians in the West Bank.
During the recent war with Iran, which began on February 28 and entered a truce on April 8, 378 incidents of settler violence against Palestinians and their property were recorded by Yesh Din, an Israeli human rights organization.
Eight Palestinians were shot and killed, and 200 were injured during that time, the organization said.
Times of Israel staff and Jeremy Sharon contributed to this report.
The Times of Israel Community.