Israeli troops kill Palestinian man in occupied West Bank and seize his body
Israeli occupation forces shoot dead Jabrin Ahmad Jabr Qatt, 59, in Madama town, south of Nablus. Separately, Zionist settlers begin erecting a new outpost in northern Jordan Valley.
A Palestinian man has been intentionally shot dead by Israeli forces in the occupied West Bank, Palestinian officials have said, as illegal settlers separately began building a new settlement outpost in the Jordan Valley.
Palestine’s Ministry of Health said it was informed by the General Authority of Civil Affairs that Jabrin Ahmad Jabr Qatt, 59, was killed after being shot by Israeli forces in the town of Madama, south of Nablus.
The ministry said his body was being withheld and that Israeli forces prevented medics from reaching him.
The Palestine Red Crescent Society said its crews were barred from accessing a wounded man earlier in the evening, adding that Israeli forces later detained him and transferred him to an unknown location.
Local sources said Israeli forces used live fire, stun grenades and tear gas while attacking Palestinian youths near the Yitzhar settlement, which is built on land belonging to Madama.
Qatt’s murder occurred after Israeli forces killed 14-year-old Mohammed al-Nassan in Al-Mughayyir.
Illegal settlers begin outpost construction
In a separate development, illegal settlers on Friday began constructing a new settlement outpost in Khirbet al-Malih, in the northern Jordan Valley, northeast of the occupied West Bank, according to the Al-Baydar Organization for the Defense of Bedouin Rights.
The group said settlers started building the outpost opposite the historic hotel at the Malih Hot Springs, describing the move as an attempt to pressure Palestinian residents into leaving their homes, farmland and grazing areas.
Al-Baydar said illegal settlers carried out repeated attacks against residents of Khirbet al-Malih in January, including threats, direct assaults and attempts to seize land, as part of what it described as a systematic policy targeting Bedouin communities, with the protection of Israeli forces.
In December, Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich said the government had legalised the status of 69 settlement outposts in the West Bank over three years, calling it "an unprecedented figure."
The UN considers Israeli settlements in the occupied Palestinian territory illegal under international law and says they undermine the viability of a two-state solution.
Since the start of the Israeli genocide in Gaza in October 2023, Israel has intensified military and settler attacks across the occupied West Bank, including killings, arrests, displacement and settlement expansion.
At least 1,107 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli army and Zionist settlers, nearly 11,000 wounded and more than 21,000 abducted in the occupied West Bank during that period, according to official Palestinian figures.