Israeli forces kill 2 Palestinians, withhold their bodies in occupied West Bank

Israeli army forces killed two Palestinians on Thursday and withheld their bodies in the town of Beit Furik, east of Nablus in the northern West Bank, the official news agency Wafa reported.

Wafa, citing security sources, said army forces shot and killed the two young men in the town before withholding their bodies.

Two other Palestinians were injured by Israeli fire and transferred to a hospital for medical attention.

Beit Furik Mayor Youssef Hanani said Israeli forces shut all entry points to the town, as soldiers and occupiers attacked residents while they were trying to extinguish fires that broke out in their fields.

Hanani said Israeli troops forced a Palestinian family to evacuate its home after assaulting its owner, while fires spread to electricity poles and occupiers set fire to two Palestinian vehicles in the town.

Dozens of residents were unable to reach their homes or leave the town after the Israeli army closed the Beit Furik military checkpoint, he added.

Earlier Thursday, the Israeli army killed a Palestinian in the northern West Bank, claiming he had carried out a stabbing attack targeting one of its soldiers near the illegal settlement of Ganim.

Since the start of Israel’s genocide in Gaza on Oct. 8, 2023, the Israeli army and occupiers have intensified attacks on Palestinians and their property in the occupied West Bank, killing at least 1,185 people and injuring 3,816 others, according to official Palestinian figures.