Israeli forces raid family home of slain Palestinian teenager as settlers, soldiers rampage through West Bank

Israeli forces on Thursday raided the family home of slain Palestinian teenager Muhammad Asmar in the occupied West Bank town of Beit Rima, Palestinian news agency Wafa reported.

Asmar was shot by Israeli forces near the village of Umm Safa, and succumbed to his wounds on Tuesday.

The Israeli army warned Asmar's family against holding condolence events or erecting a mourning tent, according to local sources cited by the agency.

The raid on the Asmar home comes amid a series of continued raids by the army throughout the West Bank, including intensified aggression on the city of Qalqilya. Local sources told The New Arab's Arabic-language sister site, Al-Araby Al-Jadeed, that the army conducted searches, arrests and interrogations, and imposed a curfew on the Kafr Saba neighbourhood before withdrawing.

The army took detainees to a house in Kafr Saba, which they had converted into a temporary military outpost. Several residents were attacked during the raid, as well as a volunteer for the Palestinian Red Crescent. The humanitarian group said its medical teams were blocked from reaching those injured, including a 26-year-old man who was later treated for a gunshot wound to the foot.

The army also stormed the town of Al-Samou’ south of Hebron, at dawn and arrested its mayor, Ibrahim Al-Rawashdeh, after raiding and searching his house. The reasons for his arrest and his whereabouts remain unknown.

Settler attacks

Settler violence has continued alongside the military incursions, with Wafa reporting that a Palestinian man and his daughter were attacked on the Ramallah-Nablus road near the village of Al-Lubban ash-Sharqiya on Thursday.

The settlers also set fire to the man's vehicle. The man and his daughter were transferred to the hospital by the Red Crescent for treatment.

Hassan Mleihat, the general supervisor of the Al-Baydar human rights organisation, told Al-Araby Al-Jadeed that settlers stormed the Bedouin village of Shalal al-Auja and attacked activists and international solidarity activists before residents and activists forced them to flee. Mleihat added that settlers stormed the Bedouin community of Shakara, south of Nablus.

Settlers also attacked the head of Susya village council on Wednesday evening, Jihad Nawaj’ah, leaving him with injuries to his chest.

Settler violence has surged since October 2023, with settlers carrying out 621 attacks in the occupied West Bank in November alone, according to the Wall and Settlement Resistance Authority.