Palestinian said killed by IDF in West Bank overnight while trying to enter Israel illegally for work

Palestinians carry the body of twenty-one-year-old Omer Al-Swarki during his funeral in the West Bank city of Qalqilya on February 3, 2026 after he was killed while trying to cross the separation wall between Qalqilya and Israel in order to work inside Israel. (Photo by JAAFAR ASHTIYEH / AFP)
Palestinians carry the body of twenty-one-year-old Omer Al-Swarki during his funeral in the West Bank city of Qalqilya on February 3, 2026 after he was killed while trying to cross the separation wall between Qalqilya and Israel in order to work inside Israel. (Photo by JAAFAR ASHTIYEH / AFP)

A Palestinian man was reportedly shot dead by Israeli forces overnight in Qalailya, close to the security barrier between Israel and the West Bank, while he was trying to enter Israel illegally for work.

He is identified as Omer al-Swarki, 21. The IDF does not respond to a request for comment.

The Palestinian Red Crescent Society reported yesterday evening that the man was hospitalized in critical condition at the Darwish Nazzal Medical Center in the northern West Bank city.

Palestinian media later reported that he succumbed to his wounds at the hospital. Hundreds attended the funeral, where his flag-draped body was carried through the city.

Since the Hamas onslaught of October 7, 2023, Israel has restricted the entry of Palestinian laborers, depriving the West Bank of a key source of income.

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