PALESTINE – In the occupied West Bank on Monday, 2 Palestinians aged 17 and 19 years old were killed by Israeli army fire and attack by Israeli settlers according to local officials.

Ahmed Rubhi al-Atrash, 19, was shot in the head at close range by an illegal settler at the northern entrance to Hebron, WAF news agency reported.

Israeli forces prevented Red Crescent paramedics from reaching al-Atrash, who was left bleeding on the ground until he died, witnesses told the agency.

His body was later taken away after his family was called to identify him.

In a separate incident, the Health Ministry said 17-year-old Jamil Atef Hannani died from critical wounds he sustained Sunday evening when Israeli soldiers opened fire during an army incursion into the town of Beit Furik, east of Nablus.

The Palestinian Red Crescent said he was shot in the chest with live fire and transferred to Rafidia Government Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

Israeli attacks have escalated across the occupied West Bank since October 2023, killing more than 1,063 Palestinians and injuring 10,300 others, according to Palestinian figures.

In a landmark opinion last July, the International Court of Justice declared Israel’s occupation of Palestinian territory illegal and called for the evacuation of all settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem.