(MENAFN) A Palestinian teenager was killed and another wounded early Sunday during an Israeli army operation in the Askar refugee camp, east of Nablus in the northern West Bank, according to reports.

Ameed Hassan, director of ambulance and emergency services at the Palestinian Red Crescent in Nablus, said that two youths were injured in clashes with Israeli forces. “One was shot in the chest with live ammunition and died from his wounds, while the other was shot in the back and transferred to the hospital.”

Israeli forces reportedly entered Nablus from multiple directions, prompting confrontations in the Askar camp, where soldiers fired live rounds at residents. The military also carried out raids in the Ras al-Ain, Al-Basha, and Old City neighborhoods and surrounding areas.

In a separate incident, illegal Israeli settlers vandalized four Palestinian vehicles in Sinjel, north of Ramallah, slashing tires and smashing windows at around 2 a.m., local authorities said. The Sinjel Municipality stated, “Sinjel has been facing an escalating wave of settler violence.”

Bahaa Faqih, deputy head of the municipality, noted that since October 2023, the town has endured dozens of attacks by settlers and Israeli forces, resulting in at least four deaths, numerous injuries, and damage to homes, vehicles, and farmland. Sinjel is surrounded by settlement outposts and a barbed-wire fence, isolating it from surrounding areas.

Palestinian estimates indicate that around 770,000 illegal settlers reside across more than 180 settlements and 256 outposts in the occupied West Bank. Attacks by both settlers and the Israeli military have surged since the Gaza war in October 2023, with more than 1,070 Palestinians killed and over 10,700 injured.

In July, the International Court of Justice issued a landmark ruling declaring Israel’s occupation of Palestinian territory illegal, calling for the removal of all settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem.

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