Escalating Violence in the West Bank: 20 Palestinians Killed by Israeli Forces in April
The Union for Justice Foundation reported that Israeli occupation forces continued their systematic and repressive policies against Palestinian civilians in the West Bank throughout April 2025, parallel to the ongoing, large-scale massacres in the Gaza Strip. The foundation documented the killing of 20 Palestinians in the West Bank by Israeli forces during this period.
Among the victims were 6 children under the age of 18, 2 women, 2 detainees who died inside Israeli prisons as a result of medical neglect, torture, and inhumane detention conditions, and 2 others who were deliberately assassinated in extrajudicial killings.
The organization stated that Israeli soldiers intentionally allowed wounded Palestinians to bleed to death in at least three documented incidents by denying them access to medical assistance and obstructing paramedics from reaching the injured.
Documented Cases of Targeted Killings:
- On April 2, 2025, Israeli forces shot and killed Hamza Mohammad Said Al-Khamash (33) inside his home in the Old City of Nablus, and deliberately left him to bleed to death after shooting him in the thigh, while blocking medical teams from providing treatment.
- On the same day, soldiers fatally shot Omar Amer Ziyoud (15) during clashes in Silat Al-Harithiya. One day later, they killed Youssef Bakr Zaoul (17) in the village of Husan, near Bethlehem.
- On April 4, Israeli soldiers shot and detained Hussein Jamil Hardan (42) near Nazareth Street, between Jenin and its northern villages. Witnesses confirmed that Israeli forces left him to bleed without medical assistance, resulting in his death.
- On April 6, an Israeli settler opened fire on a group of Palestinian civilians in the village of Turmusayya, north of Ramallah, killing 14-year-old Omar Mohammad Rabee’.
- On April 8, Israeli soldiers killed Amana Ibrahim Mohammad Ya’qoub (30) near the Haras Junction, west of Salfit, under the pretext of an attempted stabbing.
- On April 14, Malek Ali Al-Hattab (19), from Al-Jalazoun refugee camp, died of injuries sustained earlier during confrontations with Israeli soldiers.
- On the same day, Manar Farah Issa Mtair (28), a nurse from Hebron, suffered cardiac arrest after her vehicle collided with a military checkpoint near Halhoul. The stress of the encounter caused her death.
Extrajudicial Executions: Clear Violations of International Law
In April, Israeli occupation forces carried out an extrajudicial execution in Jenin Governorate, assassinating Mohammad Omar Zakarneh (23) and Marouh Yasser Rateb Khuzaimiyyeh (19) after surrounding them in a cave between Qabatiya and Misilyah.
According to international humanitarian law, extrajudicial killings constitute a gross violation of the right to life and are considered unlawful, as they occur without judicial process or legal accountability.
Deaths in Detention: Medical Negligence and Torture
Two Palestinian detainees also died inside Israeli prisons in April:
Musab Hassan Udayli (20), from Osrin, near Nablus
Nasser Khalil Radaideh (49), from Al-Ubeidiya, near Bethlehem
Both deaths were the result of deliberate medical neglect and cruel treatment, adding to the list of Palestinian prisoners who have died in Israeli custody.
Human rights organizations have documented the deaths of at least 65 Palestinian detainees since the beginning of the Israeli war on Gaza in October 2023, including 40 from Gaza. Israel continues to conceal the identities and withhold the bodies of numerous victims. The total number of confirmed prisoner martyrs since 1967 has now reached 302.
Additional Victims Killed in April
Among those killed during confrontations with Israeli forces:
- Jihad Adham Abdullah Udayli (17)
- Saif Ghassan Jabr Udayli (19)
- Suleiman Fawaz Manasrah (24), from Qabatiya, near Jenin
Also killed were:
- Wael Basim Mohammad Ghafari (48), from Sinjil, Ramallah, after tear gas inhalation
- Mahmoud Mithqal Ali Abu Al-Hija (12), from Yamoun, Jenin
- Abdul Khaliq Musab Jbour (17), from Salem, near Nablus
Ahmad Ibrahim Nassarah (32), from Beit Furik, died from injuries sustained three months earlier. At the time, Israeli soldiers shot him in the back, bound him to a tree despite his wounds, and denied him urgent medical attention, resulting in excessive blood loss and eventual death.
Targeted for Seeking Livelihood
Arafat Qaddous (48), from Iraq Burin, Nablus, was killed by Israeli forces near the separation wall in Al-Ram, north of Jerusalem, while attempting to cross into Israel to reach his workplace.
A Pattern of Killings Amid Ongoing Massacres in Gaza
These killings in the West Bank occurred simultaneously with the ongoing genocide in Gaza, where the number of Palestinian deaths has now exceeded 52,400.
The Union for Justice Foundation affirmed that the Israeli occupation continues to pose the most serious and imminent threat to the lives of Palestinians and routinely violates international human rights and humanitarian law, particularly the right to life, which is universally recognized as the most fundamental right.
The foundation expressed grave concern over the systematic and escalating violence committed by Israeli forces with complete impunity, and called upon all international actors, legal bodies, and human rights organizations to take urgent action to hold the occupying power accountable and to enforce the provisions of international law regarding the protection of civilians during armed conflict.
