Key facts
- Palestinian teenager Fadi Al-Naasan died from wounds sustained during an Israeli settler attack.
- Al-Naasan, 17, was shot on July 11 in the village of Al-Mughayyir in the occupied West Bank.
- His death comes amid a reported surge in Israeli settler violence in the West Bank.
- Al-Nassan played for Al-Mughayyir Club and was a member of the Palestinian national youth team.
- The Palestine Football Association reported that 1,013 individuals from the Palestinian sports movement have died since October 7, 2023.
Palestinians mourned the death of 17-year-old footballer Fadi Al-Naasan, who succumbed to injuries sustained a week prior during an attack by Israeli settlers and forces in the occupied West Bank village of Al-Mughayyir. Al-Naasan was shot in the thigh on July 11 and later died on Saturday, July 18, after his leg was amputated.
His death has drawn renewed attention to the escalating violence by Israeli settlers and soldiers against Palestinian communities in the West Bank, a territory occupied by Israel since 1967. Rights groups and the United Nations have characterized Israel's actions as a system of apartheid, with settlement building expanding rapidly despite being illegal under international law.
Al-Naasan was a player for Al-Mughayyir Club and a member of the Palestinian national youth team. His funeral was attended by dozens of mourners. The Palestine Football Association stated that his death brings the total number of Palestinian sports figures killed since October 7, 2023, to 1,013, including 568 from the football community.
His father recounted that Fadi ran towards the attack after hearing screams, while his mother described him as a beloved student and athlete. The Palestinian news agency Wafa reported that two other residents were injured by rubber bullets and a child by a stun grenade during the incident.
Separately, on the same Saturday, Israeli settlers and forces reportedly set fire to Palestinian property, including olive trees near Ramallah and a family home near Nablus. Israeli forces also conducted raids in towns near Jenin, which residents describe as a near-daily occurrence. Earlier in the week, Israel's security cabinet approved a budget for establishing 34 new settlements in the occupied West Bank.