Palestinian-American, 19, shot and killed in settler attack in West Bank — PA
Nasrallah Abu Siam and 4 others said injured when some 30 masked settlers raided barn to steal livestock in Mukhmas; military says it’s investigating; no arrests reported
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A Palestinian man was shot dead and four others were wounded by armed settlers who stole dozens of livestock while accompanied by troops of the Israel Defense Forces in the central West Bank’s Mukhmas on Wednesday, the Palestinian Authority said overnight.
The person killed was identified as Mukhmas resident Nasrallah Abu Siam, 19. Abu Siam’s mother told The Associated Press that he also held American citizenship.
Footage from Abu Siam’s funeral in Mukhmas on Thursday showed people waving Palestinian flags and chanting religious and populist slogans as they carried his body, which was wrapped in a Palestinian flag and a keffiyeh.
The US Embassy in Israel did not respond to requests for comment Thursday. The IDF said it was investigating the incident.
Mukhmas residents cited by the Kan public broadcaster said Abu Siam was shot when some 30 masked settlers, some of them armed, raided Palestinian barns and stole 380 head of livestock, as Palestinian shepherds tried to fend off the settlers.
Security camera footage from Mukhmas, published by left-wing activist group Herd of Justice, showed a settler running into a barn and waving a stick to get the animals out.
מתנחלים מבריחים צאן מדיר בכפר מוחמאס שבגדה.
צילום: Herd of Justice pic.twitter.com/Y32FrhqARW— הארץ חדשות (@haaretznewsvid) February 18, 2026
Other footage from a hand-held camera, published by Kan, showed people identified as Palestinians hurling stones toward a raised position as rocks thrown from above fall around them.
One person in the clip can be seen falling to the ground and being dragged away by another.
תיעוד: פלסטינים זורקים אבנים לפני הירי אתמול בשטחי מרעה ליד רמאללה שממנו נהרג נסראללה אבו סיאם, תושב הכפר מוחמאס. בצה״ל עורכים תחקיר של מפקד החטיבה ומפקד אוגדת איו״ש לגבי זהות היורה – חייל הגנה מרחבית או מתנחל@HGoldich pic.twitter.com/Ryxz7iLmE2
— כאן חדשות (@kann_news) February 19, 2026
Meanwhile, Arabic media published footage showing people identified as settlers hurling rocks from a raised position, as well as masked and armed settlers moving in between Palestinian homes and a shouting match between Palestinians and settlers, one of whom carried an assault rifle.
The Palestinian Red Crescent Society said three people shot by settlers were rushed to the Palestine Medical Complex, including Abu Siam, whose condition was described as serious. The Palestinian Authority’s Jerusalem Governorate later announced Abu Siam had succumbed to his wounds at the hospital.
The governorate said another two people were also hospitalized, at least one of whom was beaten by IDF forces, according to WAFA, the PA’s official news agency.
⚡️جرحى وإطلاق نار وسرقة أغنام.. مشاهد توثق هجوم المستوطنين على أراضي بلدة مخماس، شمال شرق القدس المحتلة#فلسطين #الاحتلال_الإسرائيلي pic.twitter.com/aTIx68vpoB
— ديوان (@DiwanDaily) February 18, 2026
Haaretz cited one eyewitness as saying the settlers surrounded Abu Siam after he was shot, “hit him with clubs and stones, and almost killed him. They acted like animals — there was no humanity in them.”
Soldiers who arrived on the scene “watched them and did nothing except hurl tear gas at us. It was awful,” the person said, adding that the military ordered Palestinians to leave the barns.
In response to a query, the IDF said troops were dispatched to Mukhmas on Wednesday “following a report of rioting and violent confrontations that included stone-throwing,” and that later, “another force arrived at the scene and used riot dispersal means to restore order.”
The military said it later received reports of gunfire by “suspects” that resulted in several Palestinians being wounded.
There were no reports of any arrests.
“No gunfire by IDF troops during the incident is known,” the military said, adding that the incident is under further investigation. However, according to Kan, it was still unclear if the settler who fired the shot was part of one of the IDF’s so-called area defense forces, known by its Hebrew acronym Hagmar.
Dozens of soldiers from such units, which comprise local settlers in reserve duty, have been dismissed for violations, including attacks on Palestinians, the military said last month.
Abu Siam was the first person killed by Israeli settlers in the West Bank in 2026, and the 37th since the Hamas-led onslaught of October 7, 2023, according to the PA’s official news agency WAFA.
Settler attacks have spiked since the Hamas onslaught. The attacks, which occur on a near-daily basis, largely go unchecked. Prosecutions of Jewish extremists are rare, and convictions are even rarer. Critics have accused the government, described as the most hardline in Israel’s history, of shrugging off the attacks.
Data published by the IDF and Shin Bet security agency last month showed a 27 percent rise in settler attacks in 2025 compared to the previous year.
In addition to the overall rise in settler attacks, in 2025 there was also an increase in the number of severe incidents, including shootings, arson, and other violent crimes: 128 in the past year, compared with 83 in 2024 and 54 in 2023, according to the data.
AP contributed to this report.
The Times of Israel Community.