Palestinian Authority forces open fire at West Bank fugitive, reportedly killing 16-year-old

Palestinian media reports that Palestinian Authority security forces in the northern West Bank opened fire on the vehicle of wanted fugitive Samer Samara, killing his 16-year-old son and critically wounding the fugitive’s 3-year-old daughter.

Samara himself was wounded and detained by PA forces, according to the reports, which do not specify his condition or whereabouts.

????بعد ملاحقة والدهما المطارد … استشهاد طفل وإصابة شقيقته برصاص أجهزة السلطة في طمون

اقرأ المزيد عبر فلسطين أون لاين: https://t.co/4qnGsl7Mhw pic.twitter.com/qXrNPtZr7F

— فلسطين أون لايـن (@F24online) February 15, 2026

In a statement via WAFA, the PA’s official news agency, the PA confirms a child was killed during the arrest of “a person wanted by the law based on a court warrant.”

The security forces express “intense sorrow” over the incident and say they have “opened an immediate and comprehensive investigation” into the case.

According to independent Palestinian outlet Ma’an, the PA forces opened fire on Samara’s car after he refused orders to stop at a roadblock that the forces had set up to catch him outside the Palestinian town of Tammun.

The Palestine Today channel, which is affiliated with Palestinian Islamic Jihad, identifies Samara as a “resistance fighter.” The Hamas terror group in a statement describes him as “a fugitive of the occupation,” referring to Israel, which coordinates with the PA on some security matters.

Hamas, a rival of the West Bank-based PA, says the shooting represents “a new blemish on the record of the [PA security] apparatus, which continues suppressing our people instead of protecting them.”

“We demand those involved in this crime be held to account… and call for the immediate release of all political prisoners,” Hamas says.