Two Palestinian teenagers were killed during an attack on the village of al-Mughayyir in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, an incident that has led to the arrest of a 19-year-old Israeli settler suspected of participating in the violence. The arrest marks the first such action in weeks of escalated attacks on Palestinian communities.
Al-Mughayyir's council stated that villagers were attempting to prevent settlers from stealing sheep when the confrontation occurred. However, the Israeli military reported that stones were thrown at its troops.
The incident on Saturday saw dozens of masked settlers descend on the village, surrounding a house with Palestinians inside and throwing stones. Israeli soldiers present at the scene reportedly detained the Palestinians trapped in the house but did not apprehend the settlers, allowing them to depart. The Israeli military stated its troops removed "rioters" and protected residents.
Since the beginning of the year, at least 81 Palestinians have been killed in the West Bank by Israeli forces or settlers, according to United Nations figures. Of these, at least 23 deaths are linked to settler attacks.
Over the same period, three Israelis, including security forces and civilians, have been killed by Palestinians in the West Bank, the UN reported. The Israeli military has drawn criticism for its alleged role in settler attacks, either by actively participating, failing to intervene, or not prosecuting perpetrators.
In a separate development, Israeli forces demolished the Palestinian village of Khirbet al-Tabban in the Masafer Yatta area on Wednesday. The Israeli human rights group B'Tselem reported that the village's 70 residents, including 28 children, were given no prior warning and were not permitted to remove their belongings. B'Tselem described this as the most significant demolition in Masafer Yatta since May 2025 and stated that Khirbet al-Tabban is the 66th Palestinian community expelled by Israeli authorities since the start of the Gaza war in October 2023, alleging it is part of a campaign of "ethnic cleansing" in the West Bank.
The Israeli military declared approximately 3,000 hectares in the South Hebron Hills, which includes Masafer Yatta, a restricted firing zone for training purposes in the 1980s. The military asserts that Palestinian homes in the area were built illegally. In 2022, Israel's Supreme Court ruled to permit the demolition of homes within the firing zone and the expulsion of residents, who had argued that such actions violated international law and that their families had resided there prior to the establishment of the State of Israel.
Israel has established about 160 settlements housing 700,000 Jews in the West Bank and East Jerusalem since its occupation during the 1967 Middle East war. These territories are claimed by Palestinians for a future state. An estimated 3.3 million Palestinians live in the area. Israeli settlements are considered illegal under international law.