Israeli occupation forces assassinated a Palestinian youth Tuesday afternoon after surrounding a house in the village of Merka, south of Jenin, in the northern occupied West Bank.
The Palestinian Ministry of Health confirmed that Sultan Nidal Abdul‑Aziz, 22, from the town of Baqa al‑Hatab east of Qalqilia, was killed by Israeli gunfire during the siege.
Witnesses said soldiers encircled the house, showered it with live ammunition and grenades, and later seized his body before withdrawing.
According to the Israeli military, Abdul‑Aziz was involved in an attack on August 18, 2024, in which an Israeli colonizer was killed inside the industrial zone near the illegal colony of Kedumim.
The incident was widely referred to in Israeli media as the ‘hammer operation,’ after reports that the attacker used a hammer in the assault.”
The killing in Merka came only hours after Israeli forces announced the killing of another Palestinian, Abdul‑Rauf Khaled Shtayyeh, 30, in the Nablus governorate following what they described as an 18‑month manhunt.
Human rights groups note that such targeted killings are part of Israel’s broader campaign in the West Bank, where military operations have intensified since October 2023.
The “Iron Wall” offensive, launched in January 2025, has focused heavily on Jenin and surrounding towns, involving large‑scale invasions, demolitions, killings and assassinations.
Palestinian organizations stress that Israel’s accusations are often used to justify extrajudicial killings without due process.
They point out that Abdul‑Aziz was killed inside a besieged home, with no attempt to abduct him alive, and that his body was taken away by the army, denying his family the right to bury him.
The latest killings underscore the escalation of violence in the West Bank, where Israeli forces have carried out daily incursions, abductions, and targeted assassinations alongside the ongoing war in Gaza.
Since the beginning of this year, 236 Palestinians killed in the West Bank in 2025, among them 13 killed by colonizers. Also among the slain Palestinians are 46 children and 7 women.
