Palestinian student killed in Israeli settler attack in West Bank

A young Palestinian man was laid to rest in the occupied West Bank on Monday, hours after he was shot dead during an Israeli settler attack and military raid in the north of the territory.

Crowds gathered for the funeral procession of Omar Muhammad Tubasi, a 20-year-old dental student who had reportedly memorised the Quran, outside a hospital in Tulkarm before accompanying his body to his family home, where relatives said their final farewells.

His body was then taken to the old Hajja Mosque, where mourners performed funeral prayers before he was buried in the town's old cemetery.

Mourners chanted slogans condemning crimes committed against Palestinians by Israeli forces and settlers across the West Bank.

Tubasi died after being shot in the head during an attack on the village of Hajja, east of Qalqilya, on Sunday evening. The Palestinian Red Crescent said it treated two other people wounded by live ammunition, one of whom was in serious condition.

A 17-year-old boy was also reportedly shot in the thigh.

A witness said Israeli settlers arrived in the area on Sunday evening and vandalised property, prompting young men from the village to confront them before Israeli forces arrived.

The witness said Israeli forces then "trapped" the young men between the settlers and the army before firing tear gas, stun grenades and live ammunition, killing Tubasi and wounding others.

Scores of Palestinians have been killed or wounded and public and private property vandalised during a recent wave of extremist Israeli settler attacks. US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee recently described such violence as terrorism.

Several Western countries have condemned settler violence and imposed sanctions on settlers and Israeli ministers accused of inciting further attacks, including Itamar Ben-Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich.

Israeli settler and military violence in the occupied West Bank has surged since the start of Israel's genocidal war on Gaza in October 2023.