14-year-old US citizen killed by Israeli forces in West Bank

PHOTO CAPTION: Members of Israeli forces stand guard outside the Israeli military prison, Ofer, on the day Israel is expected to release Palestinian prisoners as part of a hostages-prisoners swap and a ceasefire deal in Gaza between Hamas and Israel, near Ramallah, in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, February 8, 2025. REUTERS/Ammar Awad

RAMALLAH (Reuters) -A Palestinian teenager with U.S. citizenship was killed by Israeli forces in the West Bank town of Turmus Ayya, Palestinian officials said on Sunday, with the Israeli military saying it shot a "terrorist" who endangered civilians by hurling rocks.

The incident is the latest in a surge of violence and near-daily confrontations in the volatile West Bank, where settler violence and clashes between Israeli forces and armed Palestinians have kept it on edge.

The mayor of Turmus Ayya, Adeeb Lafi, told Reuters earlier in the day that Omar Mohammad Rabea, 14, was shot along with two other teenagers by an Israeli settler at the entrance to Turmus Ayya and that the Israeli army pronounced him dead after detaining him.

However, the Palestinian foreign ministry condemned the incident as an "extra-judicial killing" by Israeli forces during a raid in the town, saying it was the result of Israel's "continued impunity". 

"During a counterterrorism activity in the area of Turmus Aya, IDF soldiers identified three terrorists who hurled rocks toward the highway, thus endangering civilians driving," the Israeli army said in a statement.

"The soldiers opened fire toward the terrorists who were endangering civilians, eliminating one terrorist and hitting two additional terrorists."

Settler violence in the West Bank, including incursions into occupied territory and raids on Bedouin villages and encampments, has intensified since the Gaza war began in October 2023.

European countries and the previous U.S. administration under President Joe Biden imposed sanctions on violent Israeli settlers, though the White House under President Donald Trump removed these sanctions.

The Israeli military has also in recent months carried what it called a "large-scale military operation" in the West Bank to root out militants. 

Militant group Hamas, based in Gaza, has over recent years expanded its reach in the West Bank, where the Palestinian Authority, dominated by the rival Fatah faction, exercises limited governance. 

 (Reporting by Ali Sawafta, writing by Hatem Maher; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama and Nick Zieminski)