By Elham Asaad Buaras
A Palestinian man was killed on Sunday evening by Israeli gunfire in the village of Deir Jarir, east of Ramallah in the occupied West Bank, according to the Ministry of Health. The official Palestinian news agency Wafa reported that 20-year-old Bara’ Khairy Ali Maali was shot in the chest during an attack on the village by illegal armed settlers accompanied by Israeli forces.
Fathi Hamdan, head of the Deir Jarir Village Council, told Wafa that settlers attacked residents’ homes while Israeli troops entered the area to protect the attackers. “The occupation soldiers and colonists opened fire at residents who attempted to confront the attack, directly striking Maali in the chest with live ammunition,” Hamdan said. He was taken to the emergency centre in Silwad and then transferred to the Palestine Medical Complex, where he succumbed to his injuries shortly after.
This incident is part of a broader pattern of violence in the West Bank, which has escalated significantly since the start of the Gaza war in October 2023. More than 1,080 Palestinians have been killed, nearly 11,000 injured, and over 20,000 arrested in attacks by Israeli forces and illegal settlers in the occupied territory.
In a landmark ruling last July, the International Court of Justice declared Israel’s occupation of Palestinian territory illegal and called for the evacuation of all settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem.
The violence has also affected children. On Sunday, a nine-year-old girl was injured in the head by a sound bomb fired by Israeli forces near Nur Shams refugee camp, east of Tulkarm.
The incident occurred during a sit-in by displaced camp residents protesting their forced displacement. Dozens of participants, including foreign solidarity activists, chanted national slogans affirming their right to return to their homes, many of which were destroyed in previous Israeli attacks.
The Palestine Red Crescent Society reported that dozens suffered from tear gas suffocation during the confrontation. Israeli forces maintained a heavy presence in the area, taking positions on rooftops and deploying reconnaissance drones over the camp. The occupation’s ongoing aggression in Nur Shams has now lasted for 288 consecutive days, leaving much of the camp’s infrastructure destroyed, while the broader Tulkarm region has faced 301 days of continuous assault.
The Palestinian Prisoners Society also warned that the life of Ahmad Saadat, Secretary-General of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), is at serious risk after he was “severely beaten” during his transfer from Megiddo prison to Gilboa prison, according to Abdullah al-Zaghari, head of the society. “Saadat’s health condition is difficult, and the Israeli assaults pose a threat to his life,” Zaghari said, adding that the attack was “part of the ongoing targeting of leaders of the prisoners’ movement under the instructions of Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir.” Saadat has been imprisoned in Israel since 2006, serving a 30-year sentence in connection with the 2001 assassination of Israeli Tourism Minister Rehavam Zeevi.
In a further escalation, Israeli military raids across the West Bank on Sunday resulted in the arrest of 11 Palestinians, including a child. The raids targeted Bethlehem, Dura, Al-Karmel, Beit Ummar, and Burin, with several homes searched during the operations, Wafa reported.
Meanwhile, reports indicate that the Israeli army is attempting to impose a new reality on the ground in Gaza ahead of the deployment of an international stabilization force. According to the Israeli daily Yedioth Ahronoth, Israel seeks to shape conditions in the enclave before foreign troops arrive, as violations will become more sensitive under international oversight. Since the ceasefire on October 10, at least 342 Palestinians have been killed and 875 injured in Gaza, despite the agreement.
The escalation across the West Bank and Gaza reflects a deeply entrenched and ongoing cycle of occupation, settler violence, and military suppression. Residents, including children and prisoners, remain highly vulnerable, while international calls for adherence to human rights and legal protections continue to go unheeded.
[Photo: A group of young Palestinian volunteers wearing costumes, gather among the rubbles of destroyed buildings by Israel in the Shati Refugee Camp to organize an entertainment event for children in Gaza City, Gaza on November 23, 2025. The volunteers paint the children face and perform various shows aimed to bring joy to Palestinian children who have grown up under constant bombardment. Photojournalist: Abdalhkem Abu Riash/AA]
