Relatives mourn over the body of Adam, a 15-year-old Palestinian who was killed by Israeli security forces during a military raid the previous night in the al-Dheisheh refugee camp near the occupied West Bank city of Bethlehem, during his funeral. AFP
Israeli forces shot Mustafa Hamad, 22, early Friday at the entrance to the East Jerusalem neighbourhood of Kafr Aqab, the Palestinian news agency WAFA reported. The forces also wounded three other Palestinians and arrested one of them.
Later on Friday, Israeli troops shot Sufian Abu Leil, 46, in the head during clashes that erupted as Palestinians left Hamad’s funeral in the nearby Qalandiya refugee camp, according to WAFA. The troops also wounded another man.
Doctors at the Palestine Medical Complex in Ramallah later pronounced Hamad and Abu Leil dead, Palestinian reports said.
In a separate incident, Israeli forces shot 15-year-old Adham Dahman in the abdomen during an operation in the Dheisheh refugee camp, south of Bethlehem. He later died at Beit Jala Governmental Hospital, the health ministry said. Israeli troops also wounded another Palestinian in the camp.
Separately, Israeli settlers attacked Palestinians near the village of Tayasir, northeast of Tubas, and opened fire during the assault, WAFA reported. Israeli soldiers accompanied the settlers.
Meanwhile, Israeli soldiers detained a CNN team while they covered the aftermath of the attack in Tayasir, according to footage and accounts published by the network.
The soldiers pointed rifles at the crew, assaulted photographer Cyril Theophilos, and held the team, including correspondent Jeremy Diamond, for about two hours, CNN reported.
According to the journalists, soldiers targeted both Palestinian residents and the media crew following a settler attack in which an outpost was established in the village.
“But instead of detaining settlers or dismantling the illegal outpost, the soldiers targeted the Palestinian residents of Tayasir and a CNN team covering the incursion,” CNN stated.
“The two hours we spent detained by them laid bare the settler ideology motivating many of the soldiers who operate in the occupied West Bank – and how soldiers frequently act in service of the settler movement. Their comments build on a large body of evidence documented by journalists, activists, and Palestinians that shows Israeli soldiers supporting or standing idly by as Israeli settlers attack Palestinians or encroach on their land,” Diamond said.
One Israeli soldier, who identified himself as Meir, acknowledged that the settler outpost he was protecting in Tayasir is illegal under Israeli law, which deems established settlements legal in contravention of international law.
“But this will be a legal settlement,” Meir said. “Slowly, slowly.”
Asked if he is helping make that a reality, he responded quickly: “Of course … I help my people.”
The current Israeli government has legalized dozens of such outposts since the outbreak of Tel Aviv's genocidal war on the Gaza Strip in October 2023.
The soldiers said they were friends with Yehuda Sherman, an 18-year-old Israeli settler whom Israeli authorities say was killed by a Palestinian driver who rammed his ATV. Palestinians in the area dispute that account and say Sherman was trying to steal sheep from Palestinians.
“If you had a brother and they killed him, what would you have done?” one of the soldiers asked.
Jeremy responded, “So that’s revenge?”
“Revenge,” Meir replied.
Asked by CNN whether it was normal for soldiers to carry out revenge, he said, “Listen, at the end of the day, if the state doesn’t address what they did – those who murdered the youth … what do you expect us to do?”
The incidents come amid a broader rise in violence in the West Bank since October 2023, where Palestinian officials and rights groups say settler attacks have increased alongside ongoing military operations.
The escalation has intensified in recent weeks as regional attention shifts to the wider war involving Iran, raising concerns over further instability.
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