Published On 2/12/2025
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Last update: 17:23 (Mecca time)
Hebron- Hours apart, two Palestinian boys were martyred by Israeli occupation army bullets in the south and central West Bank, after carrying out two trampling and stabbing operations, according to an army announcement, which resulted in the injury of 3 soldiers.
The two operations came on the 53rd day of the start of the ceasefire in Gaza, at a time when the West Bank is subject to strict military measures, including hundreds of military checkpoints and gates closing the entrances to villages and cities, with an intense deployment of soldiers and non-stop incursions and military operations.
According to what was announced by the Palestinian Ministry of Health, the boy Muhannad Tariq Muhammad Al-Zughair (17 years old) was martyred by bullets of the occupation army in the city of Hebron, shortly after the army announced the killing of the perpetrator of a trampling operation north of the city, which resulted in the injury of a female soldier.
A short time later, the Ministry announced that the young man, Muhammad Raslan Mahmoud Asmar (18 years old), from the town of Beit Rima, northwest of the city of Ramallah, was martyred. This was shortly after the army announced that two recruits had been wounded in a stabbing attack and the perpetrator was killed, north of the city of Ramallah.
After being injured and being pursued… the Palestinian boy Muhannad Al-Zughayr (17 years old) was killed by the bullets of the occupation forces in the city of Hebron. The occupation accuses him of carrying out the run-over attack near the “Kiryat Arba” settlement.#Al Jazeera_Album pic.twitter.com/KyaYpiiPQj
– Al Jazeera Channel (@AJArabic) December 2, 2025
Collective punishments
Following the two operations, the occupation army imposed a comprehensive siege on the cities of Hebron and Ramallah and closed the checkpoints and iron gates spread throughout their stations, disrupting the lives of the residents and paralyzing the two cities.
Field researcher at the Palestinian Center for Human Rights, Imad Abu Hawash, told Al Jazeera Net that the army took collective punishment immediately after the two operations took place, but in Hebron the measures were more severe “by storming all parts of the city for several hours, completely closing its entrances, and raiding hospitals in search of the wounded.”
He explained that the story about the fate of the perpetrator of the sting operation, when he was a child, is still purely Israeli, and no clip has been published proving the sting operation, even though the area is reinforced with cameras, and the army announced the pursuit and liquidation of the perpetrator without indicating the occurrence of an armed clash, “which means his execution.”
He pointed out the absence of any evidence whether the child was actually killed or is still detained, “therefore he remains classified under the category of enforced disappearance,” explaining that the law requires the occupation authorities to show photos of the dead to their families and verify their identity, but this did not happen.
Abu Hawash links the efforts of the Israeli Knesset to pass the prisoner execution law, and the killing of Palestinians in Ramallah and Hebron with the possibility of their arrest.
Why the stabbing and trampling?
In light of the two operations, the question arises: Why do young Palestinian men in their prime carry out operations that often end in their death?
In his answer to the question, political analyst Muammar Al-Aweiwi told Al Jazeera Net that the Palestinian people in the West Bank have been living, since before the start of the war of extermination in Gaza on October 7, 2023, “a stifling siege in the wake of continuous incursions and the intense spread of death checkpoints in every Palestinian geographical area, which ended the lives of dozens in cold blood.”
According to official Palestinian data, the occupation army has killed 1,088 Palestinians, wounded more than 11,000, and arrested 21,000 others since the start of the war on Gaza.
He adds that the permissibility of Palestinian blood – with or without justification – has created a state of fear, terror, oppression and a feeling of humiliation among society, which becomes more apparent when there is a need to move between cities, villages and towns closed with gates and barriers.
Regarding the martyrdom of the child north of Hebron, he said that the account so far is from one side, the Israeli side, “and what happened at the military checkpoint may have been an ordinary traffic accident as a result of a state of fear or terror, especially since the perpetrator was in childhood, and as a result of that situation he fled the place after being shot and then executed.”
He continued, warning, “This is an environment imposed by the occupation on the Palestinian person, and as a result of the accumulations, a state of anger has been generated, which may indicate a major explosion in the future in the West Bank.”
Press coverage The martyr Muhammad Raslan Mahmoud Asmar (18 years old) from the town of Beit Rima, northwest of Ramallah, who was killed by occupation bullets after carrying out a stabbing attack near the “Ateret” settlement. pic.twitter.com/3GHTFhwg2Q
– Quds News Network (@qudsn) December 2, 2025
Digital data
According to the documentation of the Palestinian Information Center “Ma’ta”, 216 shooting operations, 304 bomb throwing operations, 14 run-overs, and 15 stabbing operations were recorded in the West Bank against the Israeli army and settlers since the beginning of this year.
While the same source reports that 254 Palestinians were martyred, about 2,600 were injured, about 9,900 arrests were made, and 14,359 raids took place in various areas of the West Bank during the same period.
According to a statement by the Palestinian Prisoners’ Club – today, Tuesday – the occupation has escalated arrest operations in an unprecedented manner, noting that about 21,000 arrests have been recorded from the West Bank, including Jerusalem, in addition to thousands from Gaza, pointing to “more systematic crimes against detainees and their families, which constitute an extension of the war of extermination.”
He added that the numbers related to daily arrests “do not only reflect the increase in numbers, but also in the level of crimes that accompany them, most notably the field executions carried out by the occupation army, which are accompanied by legislative efforts in the occupying state to enact a law that allows the implementation of the death penalty against Palestinian prisoners.”