UN condemns deaths of two teenagers in the West Bank

“ We condemn these deaths of Palestinian civilians, as we have consistently done, and we continue to express our deep concern about the persistent violence perpetrated by the settlers, who seem to act with complete impunity in attacking Palestinian civilians, their properties and their way of life,” said Stéphane Dujarric, the Secretary-General's spokesman, at a press conference.

“ It is up to the Israeli authorities to do whatever is necessary to fulfil their obligations and to hold the perpetrators of this violence accountable,” Dujarric explained the facts as “shocking”.

According to the Palestinian Ministry of Health, teenagers aged 16 and 19 were shot to death during an attack by settlers accompanied by Israeli forces in the village of Al Mughayir near Ramallah.

The Palestinian Red Crescent explained that one of the victims was shot in the neck “during an attack by settlers and occupation forces (Israelites)” and was taken to the hospital while receiving reanimation maneuvers. The other young man was shot in the back.

Local council chief Min Abu Aliya told the official Palestinian news agency (Wafa) that the settlers, accompanied by Israeli forces, participated in the attack.

According to Aliya, they invaded the village center, attacked two houses and stole sheep.

According to the same source, elite snipers from the Israeli army were stationed in buildings in the center of the village and that when residents tried to confront the settlers who stole their sheep, the soldiers opened fire against the Palestinians, injuring several young people.

The Israeli army indicated to the agency He's investigating the incident.

The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) estimates that 79 Palestinians were killed by Israeli and colonist forces in the West Bank this year, while nearly 1,850 were injured.

The trend has been increasing since the attacks of October 7, 2023 against Israel, led by the Palestinian Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas), to which Israel responded by invading the Gaza Strip.

The settlers are routinely protected by Israeli troops during the attacks, and their actions go unpunished in most cases.

According to a study by Israeli non-governmental organisation Yesh Din, 93.6% of investigations against settlers for violence against Palestinians in the West Bank ended without accusations.

Only 3% of police investigations have resulted in total or partial convictions since 2005, according to the same organization.

Also on Wednesday, Israeli forces invaded the community of Khirbet al-Taban, in the south of the West Bank, and destroyed all 12 homes, which they consider illegal, leaving 70 people, including 28 children, informed the human rights organization B’Tselem.

COGAT, the Israeli military body responsible for the management of civil affairs in the West Bank, told the EFE news agency that demolitions aimed at “illegal structures erected within an army firing range.”.

The Palestinian village is fully within Area C, which is subject to civil and military control of Israel.

As previous in this case, according to the Israeli press, there is a decision by the Supreme Court of Justice of 2022 on petitions submitted by inhabitants of the region, determining that Palestinian families did not reside on the spot before being declared a shooting zone, denying their permanence.

The organisation stated in the statement that Khirbet al-Taban is the 66th Palestinian community completely displaced since the attacks of the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas in southern Israel in October 2023.