Israeli soldiers shoot dead two Palestinian teens in West Bank

Israeli soldiers shot dead two Palestinian teenagers in the occupied West Bank on Monday, Palestinian officials said, while the ​Israeli military said the two had attacked a nearby Jewish ‌settlement with fire bombs and burning tyres.

There was no immediate further comment from Palestinian officials about the fatal incident in the area of Beit Ummar. Official Palestinian ​news agency WAFA said the teens were aged 15 and 19 ​and a relative confirmed their ages to Reuters.

Reuters was unable ⁠to independently verify the Israeli military's account. It said its forces ​had shot at three people who were throwing fire bombs and burning ​tyres near the settlement Karmei Tzur.

One of the three was wounded and two killed, the military said. WAFA said the third person was hospitalised in a stable condition. ​The Palestinian Red Crescent Society (PRCS) said he is 15 years old.

Israeli ​troops carry out frequent raids in the West Bank and have tightened movement restrictions ‌in ⁠recent months on Palestinian villages that sit near settlements.

U.N. bodies and most countries view Israel's settlements as illegal under international law and a primary obstacle to Palestinian statehood. Israel rejects this, viewing the territory as disputed ​rather than occupied and ​saying a ⁠Jewish presence has existed there for thousands of years.

Attacks by Israeli settlers on Palestinians and their villages have ​also risen sharply. In incidents involving settlers and the ​military, at ⁠least 57 Palestinians have been killed since the start of the year, according to U.N. data.

Palestinians have also carried out attacks on Israeli soldiers and ⁠settlers ​in the West Bank, at least one ​of them deadly in 2026, according to Israel's Shin Bet domestic security service.

-Reuters