Palestinian teen soccer player succumbs to wounds sustained in clash with settlers

RAMALLAH — A 17-year-old Palestinian footballer died on Saturday, a week after he was shot during an attack by Israeli settlers in the West Bank, according to officials and relatives.

Dozens of mourners dressed in black carried the body of Fadi Hamdallah al-Nassan — a player for Al-Mughayyir Club and a member of the Palestinian national youth team — from the Palestine Medical Complex in Ramallah to his village for burial.

The Palestine Football Association accused Israeli forces of shooting Nassan while settlers were attacking the village on July 11.

The young player was reportedly shot in the thigh during the attack. His leg was amputated, and he later died from his injuries, the association said.

The Israeli military did not immediately respond to an AFP request for comment Saturday.

“He loved football,” his father, Hamdallah Al-Nassan, told AFP.

“When the settlers attacked, he heard the screams of the girls and women,” he said. “He went to the scene of the attack and was killed.”

The teenager’s mother, Hanan al-Nassan, said her son was well-liked in the village.

“He was a good student, good in sports, and loved playing football. Everyone loved him,” she said.

“May God accept him as a martyr.”

The Palestinian Authority’s official Wafa news agency also reported that Nassan was wounded and his leg amputated, adding that two other residents were hit by rubber bullets fired by Israeli forces, while a 10-year-old boy was hit on the head by a stun grenade.

Violence in the West Bank has soared since the Hamas attack on Israel triggered the Gaza war in October 2023.

More than 1,000 Palestinians have been killed in the West Bank by Israeli forces or settlers since the war started, according to the PA health ministry. The IDF says the vast majority of them were gunmen killed in exchanges of fire, rioters who clashed with troops or terrorists carrying out attacks.

The same period has also seen a major surge in attacks by settler extremists on Palestinians and their property across the West Bank. The IDF recorded 867 incidents of nationalistic crime and settler violence in 2025. The total for 2024 was 682 incidents.

Times of Israel staff contributed to this report.

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