Two Palestinians shot dead in clash with IDF in West Bank town of Ya’bad
Palestinian reports say one of the dead was a teenager; military says they threw explosives at soldiers, who opened fire
Two Palestinians, one of them a teenager, were shot dead by Israeli forces in the northern West Bank town of Ya’bad on Sunday night, the Palestinian Authority reported.
The Israel Defense Forces said the pair had attacked soldiers with explosives.
The PA health ministry identified them as Mohammad Rabi’ Jamal Hamarsheh, 13, and Ahmad Mahmoud Zaid, 20, though the WAFA news agency reported that Hamarsheh was 16.
Clashes erupted when the IDF entered Ya’bad, west of Jenin. According to eyewitnesses and medics, both Palestinians were shot multiple times in the upper body.
The IDF said soldiers spotted that the pair were carrying explosives, which they hurled at security forces, the Ynet outlet reported. Soldiers then opened fire, killing Hamarsheh and Zaid.
The incident came after last week the IDF carried out a two-day operation against terror activities in the Jenin area during which it said soldiers killed nine Palestinian gunmen.
Several suspects were arrested and bomb-making labs were destroyed, the IDF said at the time.
Since October 7, 2023, when the Hamas terror group attacked Israel, starting the ongoing war in Gaza, troops have arrested some 5,250 wanted Palestinians across the West Bank, including more than 2,050 affiliated with Hamas.
According to the Palestinian Authority’s health ministry, more than 718 West Bank Palestinians have been killed in that time. The IDF says the vast majority of them were gunmen killed in exchanges of fire, rioters who clashed with troops, or terrorists killed while carrying out attacks.
During the same period, 41 people, including Israeli security personnel, have been killed in terror attacks in Israel and the West Bank. Another six members of the security forces were killed in clashes with terror operatives in the West Bank.
