Israeli forces killed a young Palestinian man during a military raid on the occupied West Bank city of Nablus on Sunday, amid an escalating wave of violence by the Israeli army and settlers .
Soldiers stormed Nablus on Sunday afternoon and surrounded a building in the city centre, firing live ammunition, stun grenades and tear gas.
The Palestinian Red Crescent said Nayef Firas Ziad Samaro, 26, was killed by live fire during the operation. At least four other people were wounded by gunshots, including a 12-year-old child who was shot in the shoulder, while around 40 others were treated for smoke inhalation.
The Palestinian health ministry said Samaro’s body was brought to a local hospital where his wife was in labour at the time of the raid.
According to UN figures, at least 42 Palestinians have been killed since the start of the year by Israeli soldiers and settlers in the West Bank.
In a separate incident, Israeli forces stormed the town of Deir al-Ghusun, north of Tulkarm, interrogating dozens of residents after raiding and searching multiple homes.
A 13-year-old boy was also injured after being beaten by soldiers in al-Ram, north of Jerusalem, before being transferred to hospital in Ramallah. He is now in good condition, according to the Jerusalem Governorate. Settlers uproot hundreds of olive trees Meanwhile, Israeli settlers uprooted more than 1,000 olive trees over the past day across multiple villages in the occupied West Bank, local officials said.
Awad Abu Samra, a member of the Turmus Ayya municipality, told The New Arab that settlers uprooted nearly 1,000 olive trees, around 50 years old, in the town’s plain. He said such attacks have become an almost daily occurrence , adding that more than 15,000 olive trees have been destroyed in the area over the past six months.
A settlement outpost has been established on the edge of Turmus Ayya, roughly 300 metres from the last Palestinian homes, leading Israeli authorities to restrict Palestinians’ access to their land.
Abu Samra said settlers attempted a similar incursion two days earlier, trying to enter the agricultural land with tractors before being confronted by residents, who forced them to withdraw.
In Qusra, south of Nablus, mayor Abdul Azim Wadi told The New Arab that settlers uprooted more than 400 olive trees - including some over 70 years old - in the eastern part of the town, near the illegal settlement of Migdalim.
In the Wadi Qana area of Deir Istiya, northwest of Salfit, settlers cut down around 40 olive trees and destroyed multiple solar panels, according to Hassan Mleihat of the Al-Baydar human rights organisation.
Mleihat added that settlers also stormed the Bedouin community of Al-Shajara, east of Duma.