According to a report by the British newspaper The Guardian on September 3, two teenagers were shot dead by Israelis in a Palestinian village surrounded by Jewish settlers. This is the latest incident of ethnic cleansing carried out by Israel in the West Bank occupation area.
The two victims are 16-year-old Khalil Abu Alia and 19-year-old Omar al-Nassan. The former was about to begin his eleventh grade at Muqayyar Boys School, while the latter graduated from the same school with excellent grades this summer.
According to villagers and Israeli activists, the two teenagers were killed shortly after sunset. At that time, a group of Jewish settlers entered the village under the escort of police and military forces, and stole dozens of sheep from a Palestinian family.
The English teacher of the victim, Waheed Abu Naim, said in a telephone interview that the snipers were positioned on the roof, and one of them fired at Aliya’s neck. At that moment, the boy was standing at his home door, becoming the target of their attack.
According to residents and activists, Nathan was shot twice, with the second shot hitting his back. Both died before being taken to the hospital.
Alia and Nathan’s funeral mourners, The Guardian
Israeli military spokesman said that Israeli police, troops, and settlers entered the village in order to “take away the sheep that settlers claim belong to them from a Palestinian family.” The spokesman did not provide any evidence regarding ownership, theft, or an investigation into the stolen items.
According to a spokesperson, when Palestinians threw stones and cinder blocks to resist the seizure of their sheep, the army fired at them. “The troops fired at the main instigators to eliminate the threat. It was confirmed that there were hits on targets.”
This year, three other students at Mugayel Boys School were killed by Israeli soldiers and militants. Among them was a 17-year-old Palestinian youth soccer player who was shot to death in June, and two 14-year-old teenagers—one was shot at the school gate in April, and the other was killed outside a village mosque in January.
Abu Naim said, “We don’t know how long these crimes will continue.” He taught these five murdered boys and stated that many more students have been injured due to Israeli attacks. His brother was also killed by settlers in April.
He said that this week they are making additional security preparations for the new semester that will start in three days. Higher walls have been built around the school, with fences added to the top, and the doors leading to the campus have been reinforced. They are also developing emergency plans for teaching purposes, as the village has been under increasingly tight siege over the past two weeks.
Since the end of 2023, Israeli roadblocks have blocked all roads leading into the village, leaving only one road open. The village is surrounded by at least eight settlement outposts. Since late August this year, soldiers and settlers have begun blocking the only road into Mugaeel village frequently, lasting for several hours each time. They also set up temporary checkpoints near schools during morning and evening hours.
B’Tselem Human Rights Organization stated in a statement that all buildings were demolished, as well as the reservoir, storage facilities, livestock fences and caves. The organization claims this is the 66th Palestinian community erased from maps since October 2023. Another 18 communities are experiencing displacement. Nearly 5,000 people have been forced to leave their homes, with nearly half of them being children.
“This organization's executive director, Yuli Novak, said: ‘Israel is continuing to erase Palestinian communities at a faster and faster pace, this is part of its ethnic cleansing operation on the West Bank. When Palestinians and their lives are fully exposed to Israeli violence, the world continues to look away.”
