Palestinians injured, arrested in West Bank as teenage boy laid to rest

One Palestinian was injured on Saturday in an attack by Israeli settlers in the West Bank, while the Israeli army arrested four people in the occupied territory.

In the southern West Bank, local sources said a settler used pepper spray on Palestinian resident Issa Atiyat in Masafer Yatta. The man was taken to a nearby medical centre for treatment after fainting.

The sources said the attack came after settlers released their livestock near Palestinian homes in the area.

In the town of Idna, west of Hebron, Israeli forces arrested Mujahid Muhammad Abu Juhaisha after raiding and searching his home, reported Palestinian news agency WAFA.

In the village of Al-Mughayyir, in the central West Bank, WAFA said Israeli forces arrested a Palestinian woman, as well as a foreign activist, whose name and nationality were undisclosed. They were detained in the Khalayil area south of the village.

Their arrest came as they tried to stop settlers from reaching Palestinian homes in the area, south of Al-Mughayyir.

In Tulkarm, in the West Bank’s north – an area that has seen widescale military operations since January last year – a special Israeli force arrested an unidentified young man after raiding the city’s Al-Shuweika neighbourhood.

Separately, 14-year-old Muhammad Saad Sami Naasan was laid to rest Saturday afternoon, according to The New Arab's sister site, Al-Araby Al-Jadeed. He was shot and killed by Israeli forces during a raid in Al-Mughayyir on Friday.

Israeli military and settler attacks have intensified in the West Bank since the start of the Gaza war in October 2023.

According to official Palestinian figures, the violence has killed at least 1,107 Palestinians and injured around 11,000 others. More than 21,000 people have either been detained briefly or are still in custody.

Israel’s far-right government has pushed forward with the expansion of illegal Jewish settlements.

Many Palestinians want to see the West Bank and East Jerusalem – occupied by Israel since 1967 – and the war-torn Gaza Strip as part of their future state.