TELL, West Bank (AP) — A surge in deadly violence has claimed the lives of three Palestinian teenagers in the West Bank this week, with the most recent fatality occurring during an Israeli military operation mid-week.
Residents of Tell, a village in the northern West Bank, held funeral services Friday for 15-year-old Youssef Shtayyeh, who health authorities confirmed was fatally shot by Israeli troops in the adjacent city of Nablus.
Mourners carried the teenager’s wrapped body through village roads while displaying Palestinian flags, as family members and community residents joined together in prayer and expressions of sorrow.
Military officials from Israel confirmed the death and stated their troops opened fire following efforts to detain a Palestinian individual who allegedly threw stones at soldiers. The military did not provide details about their presence in Nablus, the West Bank’s second-largest urban center under Palestinian Authority control.
The death of Shtayyeh marks at least the fourth Palestinian fatality at the hands of Israeli forces or settlers this week, following separate incidents in Hebron, al-Mughayyir and Deir Dibwan throughout the West Bank.
Human rights organizations, Palestinian officials and international monitors are raising urgent concerns about escalating violence, noting the increasing frequency of deaths among young Palestinian men amid widespread incidents of property destruction, arson and forced displacement of agricultural communities near Israeli settlements and outposts.
Speaking at one of this week’s funeral ceremonies, Ramallah Mayor Leila Ghannam characterized the wave of violence as evidence of widespread lawlessness in Palestinian territories. “Settlers and the army are one and the same,” she stated.
Data from the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs indicates that no fewer than 40 Palestinians have lost their lives since January began, with a unprecedented 11 killed by settlers — exceeding the total settler-related deaths for all of 2025 by two.
