Two Palestinian teens killed in West Bank raid by Israeli settlers and army

Two Palestinian teenagers were killed on Wednesday in an incident involving Israeli settler militants and army troops in the West Bank village of al-Mughayyir, according to local officials and the Palestinian health ministry.

The two victims were aged 16 and 19, the Palestinian health ministry reported. A local official told the Palestinian news agency WAFA that the youths died in al-Mughayyir, a village near Ramallah.

The Israeli military claimed its forces entered al-Mughayyir to ensure the safety of police officers and an Israeli civilian attempting to recover livestock. The military stated that their troops engaged and targeted the main instigators of a violent disturbance where people were throwing stones at the forces. The military added that the incident is currently under investigation.

This attack occurred amid a surge in violence by settler militants in the occupied West Bank, following a siege of Qusra village in August that drew international condemnation. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government has been actively expanding settlements in the West Bank, territory captured during the 1967 war. Israel has established numerous new settlements and settler outposts in the region.

Rights organizations argue that the growing settler presence near Palestinian villages, similar to Qusra, is part of a deliberate strategy by settlers to seize more land from Palestinians, further encroaching on the territory Palestinians aim to use for establishing their own state.