Israeli Army Shoots Dead 19-Year-Old Palestinian in West Bank's Kobar Village After Settlers Attack Gate, Mayor and Health Ministry Dispute Who Fired

A 19-year-old Palestinian man, Baha al-Natshah, was shot dead on October 2, 2026, in the West Bank village of Kobar after settlers attacked Palestinians trying to open a gate recently erected to keep them inside the village, according to Agence France-Presse and the Times of Israel. Kobar Mayor Mounir Badwan told AFP that when young Palestinians tried to open the gate, settlers attacked them, prompting the arrival of the Israeli army, which then started shooting live bullets. Mayor Badwan said army bullets hit the 19-year-old, a resident of the East Jerusalem neighborhood of Kafr Aqab. The Palestinian Authority Health Ministry, however, said settlers shot him. According to Army Radio, the incident took place outside the illegal Israeli farming outpost of Eretz HaTzvi, which is adjacent to Kobar. The PA civil affairs ministry informed the health ministry of the death, and the ministry said IDF troops subsequently raided Kobar to confiscate the body.

The October 2 killing marked the 87th West Bank death in 2026. The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs recorded more than 1,330 settler-related attacks on Palestinians in the West Bank from January to late July 2026, averaging six a day.

Palestinians in Kobar and across the West Bank face fatal violence from either Israeli forces or settlers, with the disputed attribution of gunfire in this case illustrating the challenge in establishing accountability when both operate in proximity during attacks.

Sources

Times of Israel liveblog, "West Bank mayor: Settlers attacked Palestinians who tried to open gate to leave village, army shot dead 19-year-old," October 2, 2026, timesofisrael.com; Al Jazeera, "Israeli settlers attack Jalud village in occupied West Bank pogrom," September 29, 2026, aljazeera.com (for background on 2026 settler violence statistics); UN News, "Security Council LIVE: Spotlight on Israeli settler violence in West Bank," August 2026, news.un.org (for casualty statistics through July 24, 2026)