Said Amori and Mohammad Sio
22 August 2026•Update: 22 August 2026
Israeli security officials have warned that attacks by occupiers against Palestinians in the West Bank are causing “serious” political damage to Israel, public broadcaster KAN reported Friday.
The officials, who were not identified, said soldiers are being forced to deal with incidents on the ground amid “a lack of firm law enforcement by police and other state authorities, in some cases without adequate tools or sufficient support.”
The attacks are “taking place before the eyes of the entire world and causing serious political damage to Israel,” said officials, adding that they are also placing a strain on Israeli forces deployed in the West Bank.
The criticism followed an occupier attack Friday on the West Bank town of Sa’ir, in Hebron province, that killed Karim Shalaldeh, 17, and wounded others.
The Israeli army said a group of occupiers entered the town on a “trip” without prior coordination with the military and claimed they came under stone-throwing by Palestinians, according to the broadcaster.
Earlier Friday, a medical source at the Al-Mizan Hospital in Hebron told Anadolu that Shalaldeh died from gunshot wounds.
His father, Sanad Shalaldeh, told Anadolu that 50 Israeli occupiers attacked the family’s home and that one of them shot his son at close range.
“My son was standing in front of the house and did nothing. When he asked them to move away, one of them shot him in the chest and killed him in cold blood,” he said.
The occupied West Bank has seen a rise in Israeli army incursions and occupiers’ attacks against Palestinians and their property since Israel launched its genocide in the Gaza Strip in October 2023, amid growing warnings about the consequences of continued violence.