The Palestinian child martyr Ammar Mu’taz Hamayel (14 years old), who was martyred by the bullets of the occupation forces at the settlement road adjacent to the town of Kafr Malik, northeast of Ramallah (social media)
01/01/2026 – Union for Justice Foundation
The Union for Justice Foundation stated that during the past year, the Israeli army and settler militias killed 260 Palestinians in the West Bank and two in the areas occupied since 1948, including 65 children under the age of 18 and 11 women.
The Foundation reported that Israeli occupation forces killed 246 civilians, while settler gangs killed 16 others in separate attacks targeting Palestinian villages and towns, in a year that witnessed a marked escalation in settler violence.
These fatalities in the West Bank come at a time when the number of Palestinian martyrs in the Gaza Strip, since the beginning of the Israeli war on 7 October 2023, has reached approximately 71,270 killed and 171,233 injured.
The Palestinian child martyr, Rayan Abu Mualla, was only sixteen years old (social media).
Martyrs by Governorate
Regarding the geographical distribution of martyrs, the Union for Justice explained that Jenin Governorate topped the list with 83 martyrs, followed by Nablus with 42, Tubas with 32, and Hebron with 30.
In addition, 22 martyrs were recorded in Ramallah and al-Bireh, 14 in Tulkarm, 14 in Bethlehem, 10 in Qalqilya, 9 in Jerusalem, 3 in Salfit, 2 from the areas occupied since 1948, and one from Jericho.
According to the Foundation, 38 Palestinians were killed in 2025 as a result of Israeli drone strikes targeting civilians in residential areas.
Victims of Settler Attacks
Based on monitoring and documentation by the Union for Justice, settlers killed 16 Palestinians over the past year in violent attacks on Palestinian villages and towns, including 10 from Ramallah and al-Bireh Governorate.
The victims were:
* Mohammad Ahmad Mahmoud al-Hour (48), from Surif, Hebron Governorate
* Murshid Nawaf Hamayel (35), Mohammad Maher al-Naji (19), and Lutfi Sabri Ba‘irat (18), all from Kafr Malik, Ramallah and al-Bireh
* Mohammad Rizq Hussein al-Shalabi (23) and Saif al-Din Kamel Abdul Karim Maslat (23), from al-Mazra‘a al-Sharqiya, Ramallah and al-Bireh
* Awda Mohammad Khalil al-Hathalin (31), from Yatta, Hebron
* Khamis Abdul Latif ‘Iyad (40), from Silwad, Ramallah and al-Bireh
* Mu‘een Sobhi Mohammad Asfar (24), from ‘Aqraba, south of Nablus
* Thameen Khalil Dawabsheh (35), from Duma, south of Nablus
* Mohammad Issa Ahmad Alawi (21), from Deir Jarir, Ramallah and al-Bireh
* Sa‘eed Murad al-Na‘san (20), from al-Mughayyir, Ramallah and al-Bireh
In addition to:
* Jihad Mohammad ‘Ajjaj (26), from Deir Jarir
* Ahmad Rabhi al-Atrash (32), from Hebron
* Baraa’ Khairy Ali Ma‘ali (20), from Deir Jarir
* Muheeb Ahmad Jibril (16), from Tuqu‘, Bethlehem Governorate
“Martyrs of Livelihood”
According to the Union for Justice Foundation, nine workers were killed in 2025 while being pursued by occupation forces, as a result of Israeli actions while attempting to reach their workplaces in the areas occupied since 1948 or return from them to the West Bank, during detention, or near the separation wall.
They are:
* Salah Mohammad Suhail, from Deir al-Ghusun, Tulkarm, who died of a heart attack while waiting at the Bartaa military checkpoint northwest of Jenin
* Arafat Qaddous (48), from ‘Iraq Burin, Nablus, who died after being chased by occupation forces near the separation wall in al-Ram, north of Jerusalem
* Issam Kamal Ruba‘i (43), from Meithalun, Jenin, killed after Israeli soldiers opened live fire near the separation wall on the lands of Faqqu‘a village
* Samer Bassam al-Zagharna (24), from al-Ramadin, Hebron, killed after being shot near the separation wall on the lands of al-Dhahiriya
* Sanad Najah Hantouli (25), from Silat al-Dhahr, Jenin, killed by Israeli gunfire near the separation wall in al-Ram
* Salim Raji Hassan Abu ‘Eisha (57), from al-Zababdeh, Jenin, who died after being assaulted by Israeli soldiers near the separation wall in al-Ram
* Adel Khaled Qazzaz al-Dara‘ibeh (26), from Dura, Hebron, who succumbed to injuries sustained after being assaulted by occupation soldiers while attempting to enter the occupied interior
* Yousef Omar ‘Aql (33), from Biddya, Salfit, who died of a gunshot wound sustained in al-Ram while trying to reach his workplace inside the occupied territories
* Jihad Omar Hassan Qazmar (58), from ‘Izbat Salman, Qalqilya, who died after falling from the separation wall in al-Ram while attempting to reach his place of work
Assassinations: Extrajudicial Executions
During 2025, Israeli special forces carried out several assassination operations in various areas of the West Bank, killing dozens of young Palestinians.
Under international humanitarian law, assassination constitutes an illegal act and an extrajudicial execution. This is a policy the occupation forces continue to employ extensively, despite their ability to arrest the targeted individuals alive and bring them to trial.
The Union for Justice Foundation believes that the rising number of martyrs in the West Bank reflects a new policy adopted by the Israeli army, particularly since 7 October 2023, based on lax rules of engagement and the widespread use of live fire against Palestinians who pose no real threat.
The Foundation further asserts that killing Palestinians has become an objective in itself for the Israeli army, which enjoys full political and judicial backing from a far-right government, amid the absence of any form of international accountability, allowing Israel to act with complete impunity.
The Foundation concludes that the occupation practices killing for political purposes, aimed at intimidating Palestinians and forcing them to leave their places of residence in service of its expansionist settlement projects in the West Bank.
End
