By Diana Khwaelid
Within 48 hours, extremist settler groups have killed three Palestinians, including a school-aged child, in recent days. On April 21st, in the town of Al-Mughayyir, northeast of Ramallah, settlers killed activist Jihad Abu Naeem, 32, who was known for his political and human rights activism defending his village and land from extremist settlers. They also killed 14-year-old child Aws Al-Nu‘asan, who had previously lost his father in the same town after a settler took his life in 2019.
Less than 24 hours later, settlers carried out another killing in a different location. In the village of Deir Dibwan, one of the villages near Ramallah, hundreds of Palestinians mourned the death of 29-year-old Ouda Awwadeh, a father of newborn twin daughters no older than two months.
A settler’s bullet ended his life, orphaning his children before they had the chance to grow up, and depriving his family and wife of a happiness that may now be lost forever. Martyr Awwadeh is survived by his wife, whom he had been married to for only one year, and his two infant daughters, who are just two months old.
Daily crimes are being committed by settlers under the legitimization of the Israeli government, amid a state of fear and psychological terror experienced by Palestinians in the West Bank. According to Palestinian sources, the number of Palestinians killed by settler gunfire in the West Bank since the beginning of 2026 has reached 17.
The question remains: who will hold Israel accountable for its crimes?
