Daijiworld Media Network – Ramallah

Ramallah, Sep 3: Two 19-year-old Palestinians were killed and another was seriously injured after Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) soldiers opened fire during a violent disturbance in the West Bank on Wednesday, according to reports.

The IDF said its forces were operating in Al-Mughayyir village in the Ramallah area when a riot broke out. According to the military, stones and cinder blocks were thrown at the soldiers during the incident.

The forces responded with live fire, claiming the action was taken to counter an immediate threat. The IDF said that hits were identified, although it did not provide further details.

According to Ynet, two Palestinian men, both aged 19, were killed in the shooting, while another person sustained serious injuries.

The IDF said its soldiers had been in the village to retrieve livestock belonging to Israeli citizens that had been located in the area.

The circumstances leading to the confrontation and the handling of the disturbance are currently under review.

The incident comes amid renewed tensions over violence involving Israeli settlers and Palestinians in the West Bank. Earlier, the IDF and Israel Police had traded accusations over their handling of extremist settler violence following clashes that left at least eight Palestinians injured.

In a separate incident on Saturday, settlers reportedly entered the West Bank villages of Kusra and Jalud, barricaded themselves inside a Palestinian home and threw stones at local residents. The settlers left after IDF troops arrived, but no arrests were made.

Israel Police’s Judea and Samaria District commander, Assistant Commissioner Moshe Pinchi, later criticised the military's handling of the incident, saying the settlers should have been detained rather than dispersed.

Pinchi said the incident occurred in Area B of the West Bank, where the military is responsible for security, and argued that Border Police personnel operating under the army should have carried out the arrests.