Palestinian fatally shot amid clashes near illegal West Bank outpost
Military says Mohammad Farid threw explosive object at forces before being hit; dozens clash near town of Qusra, next to Esh Kodesh outpost

A Palestinian youth was shot and killed Saturday after being struck by Israeli soldiers near the West Bank Palestinian town of Qusra, close to Nablus, amid a “violent confrontation” between Israeli settlers of an illegal outpost and Palestinians. The military said the youth threw a suspicious object from the roof of a building that exploded near the forces, who opened fire.
Some 100 Palestinians and 30 settlers from the nearby illegal Esh Kodesh outpost clashed on Saturday evening near the West Bank town, according to media reports.
The military said its soldiers in the area responded to “a violent confrontation between tens of Palestinian and Israeli settlers [that] developed adjacent to the village of Qusra… during which both sides hurled rocks at each other”.
“During the operation, a suspect was identified [after he] threw a suspicious object from the roof of a building that exploded near the forces. IDF soldiers responded by firing toward the suspect to remove the danger,” the military said in a statement.
There were no reports of Israelis hurt in the incident.
The Palestinian Health Ministry identified the deceased Palestinian as 20-year-old Mohammad Farid.
#صورة الشاب محمد فريد حسن (21 عامًا) الذي ارتقى برصاص المستوطنين وهو في منزله ببلدة قصرة جنوب نابلس. pic.twitter.com/H4l14dzXOG
— Newpress | نيو برس (@NewpressPs) July 3, 2021
According to the Ma’an News Agency, Farid was transferred to Beilinson Hospital in Petah Tikva for medical treatment before succumbing to his wounds.
The hospital did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Qusra residents and Israeli settlers sporadically clash in the area. There have been multiple incidents where settlers and armed off-duty soldiers from the Esh Kodesh outpost try to enter Qusra. In some cases, the incursions resulted in the settlers being attacked with rocks, but in others they were detained by local Palestinians and handed over to Israeli security forces.