Israeli forces shot and killed a Palestinian teenager near Jerusalem on Thursday morning, amid a surge in violence in the occupied West Bank , heightened by fragile Iran ceasefire tensions. According to the Jerusalem Governorate, 17-year-old Muhammad Murad Rayyan was killed by Israeli forces in the town of Beit Duqqu, northwest of Jerusalem , while another Palestinian was wounded in the raid.
Israeli forces reportedly seized Rayyan’s body after the shooting. Clashes broke out between Israeli troops and local residents during the raid, which involved large-scale searches of Palestinian homes. The governorate said several young men and residents were also detained and subjected to on-the-spot interrogations. The incident coincided with Israeli raids and arrests in the village of Marka, south of Jenin . The New Arab , citing local sources, reported similar incursions, including house raids and arrests, across multiple areas of the West Bank. The latest developments come amid intensified Israeli military operations in recent months, including near-daily raids on towns and refugee camps, often accompanied by clashes, arrests and a rise in settler attacks on Palestinian communities and property. During the period of the Iran war , launched by US and Israeli military operations on 28 February, incidents involving both Israeli forces and settlers increased. Israeli organisation Yesh Din said on Wednesday that 378 incidents of extremist settler violence were recorded across 148 Palestinian communities in the occupied West Bank. The group added that eight Palestinians were killed and around 200 were injured by settlers during this period. "Settler violence could be stopped if only there was a real desire on the part of the government and state authorities, but Israel has no motivation to change the situation," Yesh Din said. "On the contrary, Israel’s policy encourages criminal settlers and leads to the spread of violent farming outposts across the entire West Bank," it added, referring to efforts to establish agricultural outposts aimed at displacing Palestinian communities. "The map of Palestinian communities where settler violence has occurred clearly illustrates the goal of state-backed violence: expelling Palestinians from their lands and pushing them into small, crowded enclaves."
The rise in settler violence has prompted some Israeli officials and military leaders to warn of growing lawlessness and violence by settlers in the West Bank . At least 35 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli soldiers and settlers in the occupied West Bank so far in 2026. In Gaza, Israel’s genocidal offensive has continued despite a fragile ceasefire with Hamas in place since October 2025. The Global Sumud Flotilla, comprising around 40 boats, set sail from Barcelona on Wednesday in a renewed attempt to break the Israeli blockade and deliver aid to Gaza, organisers said. The departure had been delayed from Sunday due to adverse weather. The latest mission follows a similar attempt in late 2025, when a flotilla of around 50 boats carrying political figures and activists, including Sweden’s Greta Thunberg , was intercepted by the Israeli navy- an action organisers and Amnesty International described as illegal. Crew members were arrested and later expelled by Israel. This comes after the United Nations announced on Monday the reopening of the Zikim crossing in northern Gaza for the first time in 40 days, which it said would "help address a critical need by allowing supplies to enter northern Gaza directly", according to UN spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric. Dujarric said aid deliveries, including food and nutrition supplies from the World Food Programme and UNICEF, resumed earlier this week. However, he warned that "major constraints remain", including Israeli customs delays, limited scanning capacity and restrictions on some UN agencies and NGO partners. Israel had closed all crossings into Gaza, citing security concerns following the start of the Iran war, later reopening Kerem Shalom and Rafah crossings in the south. According to Gaza’s health ministry, eight Palestinians were killed, and 29 were wounded by Israeli fire in the past 24 hours.
The ministry said the overall death toll since 8 October 2023 has reached 72,344, with 172,242 injured. Since the ceasefire began, 765 Palestinians have been killed, 2,140 injured, and 760 bodies recovered, it added.