Palestinian-American, 19, shot dead in West Bank settler attack – PA
A Palestinian was shot dead and four others wounded on Wednesday by armed settlers who, accompanied by Israeli Defense Force troops, stole dozens of livestock in Mukhmas in the central West Bank, the Palestinian Authority said overnight.
The person killed was identified as Mukhmas resident Nasrallah Abu Siam (19). Abu Siam’s mother told The Associated Press that he also has American citizenship.
Footage from Abu Siam’s funeral in Mukhmas on Thursday showed people waving Palestinian flags and shouting religious and populist slogans while carrying his body, wrapped in a Palestinian flag and a keffiyeh.
The U.S. Embassy in Israel did not respond to requests for comment on Thursday. The IDF said it was investigating the incident.
Residents of Mukhmas, quoted by public broadcaster Kan, said Abu Siam was shot dead when about 30 masked settlers, some of them armed, raided Palestinian barns and stole 380 head of livestock while Palestinian herders tried to fight off the settlers.
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Surveillance camera footage from Mukhmas released by the left-wing activist group Herd of Justice showed a settler running into a barn and waving a stick to get the animals out.
Settlers smuggle sheep from a farm in Mohamas village in Begda.
Photo: Flock of Justice pic.twitter.com/Y32FrhqARW
– Haaretz News (@haaretznewsvid) February 18, 2026
Other handheld camera footage released by Kan showed people identified as Palestinians hurling stones toward an elevated position, while stones thrown from above fell around them.
In the clip, one person can be seen falling to the ground and being dragged away by another.
Documentary: Palestinians throw stones in pastures near Ramallah before yesterday’s shooting that killed Nasrallah Abu Siam, a resident of the village of Mohamas. The IDF is conducting an investigation by the brigade commander and the IOS division commander into the identity of the shooter – a territorial defense soldier or a settler @HGoldich pic.twitter.com/Ryxz7iLmE2
– Here is news (@kann_news) from February 19, 2026
Meanwhile, Arab media released footage showing people identified as settlers hurling stones from an elevated position, as well as masked and armed settlers moving between Palestinian homes and a shouting match between Palestinians and settlers, one of whom was carrying an assault rifle.
The Palestinian Red Crescent Society said three people shot by settlers were taken to the Palestine Medical Complex, including Abu Siam, whose condition was described as serious. The Palestinian Authority’s Jerusalem governorate later announced that Abu Siam had succumbed to his wounds in hospital.
According to WAFA, the Palestinian Authority’s official news agency, the governorate said two other people were also hospitalized, at least one of whom was beaten by IDF forces.
⚡️ Wounded people, shootings and sheep theft… scenes documenting the settlers’ attack on the lands of the town of Mikhmas, northeast of occupied Jerusalem #Palestine #Israeli_occupation pic.twitter.com/aTIx68vpoB
— Diwan (@DiwanDaily) February 18, 2026
Haaretz quoted an eyewitness as saying that the settlers surrounded Abu Siam after he was shot, “hitting him with clubs and stones and almost killing him. They behaved like animals – there was no humanity in them.”
Soldiers who arrived on the scene “were watching and did nothing except hurl tear gas at us. It was terrible,” the person said, adding that the military had ordered the Palestinians to leave the barns.
In response to a query, the IDF said troops were deployed to Mukhmas on Wednesday “following a report of unrest and violent confrontations, which included stone-throwing.”
The military said it later received reports of shootings by “suspects” that injured several Palestinians.
There were no reports of arrests.
“There are no known shots fired by IDF troops during the incident,” the military said, adding that the incident remains under investigation. However, according to Kan, it was still unclear whether the settler who fired the shot was part of one of the IDF’s so-called Area Defense Forces, known by the Hebrew acronym Hagmar.
Mourners carry the body of 19-year-old Palestinian-American Nasrallah Muhammad Abu Siyam, who was shot dead by settlers Wednesday evening during his funeral in the West Bank village of Mukhmas, east of Ramallah, Thursday, Feb. 19, 2026, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry. (AP Photo/Nasser Nasser)
Dozens of soldiers from such units, which include local settlers on reserve duty, have been fired for violations including attacks on Palestinians, the military said last month.
According to the Palestinian Authority’s official news agency WAFA, Abu Siam was the first person killed by Israeli settlers in the West Bank in 2026 and the 37th since the Hamas-led attack on October 7, 2023.
Since the Hamas attack, settler attacks have increased. The attacks, which occur almost daily, remain largely uncontrolled. Prosecutions of Jewish extremists are rare and convictions even rarer. Critics accused the government, described as the harshest in Israel’s history, of allowing the attacks to take place.
Data released last month by the IDF and security service Shin Bet showed a 27 percent increase in settler attacks in 2025 compared to the previous year.
In addition to the overall increase in settler attacks, 2025 also saw a rise in the number of serious incidents, including shootings, arson and other violent crimes: 128 last year, compared to 83 in 2024 and 54 in 2023, the data said.
AP contributed to this report.
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