Israeli troops kill three in West Bank

RAMALLAH, Occupied Palestine — Three Palestinians were killed Thursday by Israeli fire in the occupied West Bank, the Palestinian health ministry said.

Violence has surged across the West Bank for months and intensified further since the start of the Israeli war against the Gaza Strip.

On Thursday in El Bireh, near the seat of the Palestinian Authority in Ramallah, two Palestinians, Ayham Al Shafei, 14 and Yazan Shiha, 24, were killed and two others wounded when Israeli troops opened fire during a raid, the Palestinian health ministry said.

A 19-year-old Palestinian, Qusai Quran, was killed by Israeli forces during a raid on Qalqilya in the northern West Bank, according to the ministry, reporting two others were wounded.

 'Severe abuse' 

Also on Thursday, the Palestinian health ministry reported the death of 14-year-old Hamdan Hamdan of wounds sustained on Monday by Israeli fire in a village near Nablus.

For several months, the West Bank has seen increasing Israeli forces raids, attacks on Palestinians by Israeli settlers.

According to the Palestinian ministry, Israeli forces and settlers have killed around 130 Palestinians in the West Bank since October 7.

In the same period around 1,900 have been arrested by Israeli occupation forces, according to the Palestinian Prisoners' Club advocacy group.

Some media and rights organisations have said videos circulating on social media show Israeli soldiers filming the abuse and humiliation of detained Palestinians.

In a statement this week, Geneva-based Euro-Med Human Rights Monitor said it "has documented severe abuse and torture against Palestinian civilians and detainees at the hands of the Israeli army".

The NGO said Palestinians near Hebron in the south of the West Bank had been "dragged and assaulted by Israeli soldiers".

"The Palestinian civilians in the footage have been stripped of their clothes, have their hands and feet tied, and appear to have been left outdoors for hours at a time," the statement said.

The United States warned on Wednesday that violence by settlers in the West Bank was "incredibly destabilising".

A State Department spokesman called settler violence "counterproductive to Israel's long-term security" and said Washington had been clear with Israel that it "needs to stop".