NABLUS, August 2, 2025 (WAFA) – A 24-year-old Palestinian youth was shot and killed and seven others were injured on Saturday evening during an armed assault by Israeli colonists on the town of Aqraba, south of Nablus in the occupied West Bank.
According to Salah Jaber, mayor of Aqraba, and the Palestinian Red Crescent Society, the youth, identified as Mueen Subhi Asfar, was fatally shot in the chest. The seven others were wounded by live ammunition, mostly in the lower limbs, and were transferred to hospital for treatment.
The attack was carried out by armed colonists from a newly established outpost on privately owned Palestinian land south of the town. Mayor Jaber said that unarmed residents attempted to fend off the colonists before Israeli occupation forces arrived, backing the attackers and opening live fire on civilians.
This incident adds to a growing trend of violence perpetrated by Israeli colonists in the West Bank. According to the Wall and Settlement Resistance Commission, 2,153 colonist attacks were recorded in the first half of 2025 alone, resulting in the killing of four Palestinians.
The attacks have included home invasions, arson, shootings, road blockades, destruction of property, and the rapid expansion of illegal outposts—particularly in villages like Kafr Malik, Al-Mughayyir, Beita, and Sinjil.
Provinces most affected by these attacks include Ramallah with 491 incidents, Hebron with 409, and Nablus with 396. The frequency and intensity of colonist violence have escalated, often with direct or tacit support from Israeli forces.
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