Israeli occupation forces shot and killed an 18‑year‑old Palestinian late Thursday night during an invasion of the village of Beitin, east of Ramallah in the central occupied West Bank.
The Palestinian Ministry of Health said it was formally notified by the General Authority of Civil Affairs that the slain Palestinian was identified as Haitham Ezzeddine Omar Hamida, 18.
Israeli forces seized his body and transferred it to an undisclosed location, preventing his family and medical teams from retrieving him.
Local sources said soldiers invaded the village, triggering protests as troops fired live ammunition, tear‑gas canisters, and stun grenades at residents.
The heavy firing ignited agricultural land in the center of the village. Witnesses reported that Israeli forces opened live fire at Palestinian youths during the invasion, striking Haitham with live rounds.
Residents attempted to reach the wounded teen, but soldiers continued firing tear gas and blocked access to the area.
The invasion of Beitin is part of a wider pattern of nightly Israeli military incursions across the central West Bank, where soldiers routinely break into towns and villages, fire live rounds at residents, and impose movement restrictions.
The withholding of Hamida’s body follows Israel’s ongoing policy of retaining the bodies of slain Palestinians, a practice condemned by human rights organizations as collective punishment.
