A Palestinian man was shot to death by an off-duty Israeli soldier during a clash on Wednesday near the West Bank town of Duma, according to the military and Palestinian media reports.
The Israel Defense Forces said the victim, identified by the Palestinian Authority health ministry as Thameen Dawabshe, 35, threw stones at the off-duty soldier and an Israeli civilian.
According to the IDF, the incident took place during “civilian engineering work” near Duma. “Dozens of Palestinian terrorists hurled stones at an off-duty IDF soldier and an Israeli civilian who were at the location,” the military said.
Official PA news outlet WAFA quoted Duma’s mayor saying that the clash erupted in response to earthworks on village land carried out by Israelis in recent days.
The IDF said that the soldier initially fired into the air in response to the stone-throwing. “The terrorists continued to hurl stones, and in response, the soldier responded with live fire to remove the threat. A hit was identified,” the military said.
“Following this, the terrorists attempted to snatch the soldier’s weapon,” according to the military.
A Palestinian was killed after being shot by Israeli settlers in the village of Duma, southern Nablus. pic.twitter.com/vjfwyuLZf3
— Eye on Palestine (@EyeonPalestine) August 13, 2025
The military said that upon receiving a report of the incident, additional troops were dispatched to the scene.
The soldier and the civilian were lightly injured by the stones and were treated at the scene, according to the IDF and medics.
A video purportedly from the incident appears to show a man with a rifle open fire as a group of Palestinians approach him. At least two gunshots can be heard in the short clip.
35-year-old Thameen Khalil Reda Dawabsheh succumbed to his wounds after being shot by colonists during an attack on the village. pic.twitter.com/cHfdUg4Unl
— WAFA News Agency – English (@WAFANewsEnglish) August 13, 2025
Violence in the West Bank has spiked since the Hamas onslaught of October 7, 2023, which sparked the war in Gaza.
According to the Palestinian Authority health ministry, more than 950 West Bank Palestinians have been killed in that time. 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.
During the same period, 53 people, including Israeli security personnel, have been killed in terror attacks in Israel and the West Bank. Another eight members of the security forces were killed in clashes with terror operatives in the West Bank.
Settler attacks on Palestinians throughout the West Bank have also been taking place frequently, largely with impunity, sparking mounting sanctions from Western governments.
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