Israeli Settlers and Soldiers Open Fire at Al-Mughayyir School, Killing 14-Year-Old Aws Al-Naasan

An attack on a school in the occupied West Bank village of al-Mughayyir ended with two Palestinians killed, including a 14-year-old, as Israeli settlers and Israeli soldiers opened fire toward a school and the courtyard where students tried to reach parents.

“Two Palestinians killed during settler attack on West Bank village, officials say Two Palestinians, including a teenage boy, have been killed in an attack involving Jewish settlers and Israeli soldiers in a village in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, according to Palestinian officials”

BBC

Zeteo described the morning at Al-Mughayyir Boys’ Secondary School, where “Two hundred students between the ages of 6 and 17 were in their classrooms,” until “the first shot came without warning” and teachers locked doors and pulled children away from windows.

BBC

Zeteo quoted principal Bassam Abu Assaf saying, “This was the first time there was direct gunfire,” and adding, “They intended to harm the students. The fire was direct and heavy.”

The BBC said around 10 settlers approached the village along with soldiers and started shooting towards a school, and that Aws al-Naasan and Jihad Abu Naim were killed by soldiers.

The Washington Post framed the incident as an Israeli army reservist shooting and killing two Palestinians near a school east of Ramallah on Tuesday morning, citing authorities and naming the victims as 14-year-old Aws al-Naasan and 32-year-old Jihad Abu Naim.

In parallel, Common Dreams reported that settlers attacked a school in the village of al-Mughayyir, east of Ramallah, on Tuesday morning, killing 14-year-old Aws Hamdi Al-Naasan and 32-year-old Marzouq Abu Naim, and wounding at least four other people.

Multiple accounts tied the attack to a reported incident involving stones and an Israeli vehicle, with the Israeli military describing a sequence that began before the shooting at the school.

The BBC said Israel’s military dispatched soldiers after a report of stones being thrown at a military vehicle, and that a reservist then opened fire at “suspects,” with the BBC adding that the soldiers then “acted to disperse the violent confrontation.”

CBC

CBC similarly reported that the Israeli military deployed forces to the al‑Mughayyir area after reports that stones were thrown at an Israeli vehicle carrying civilians and a reserve soldier, who exited the car and opened fire at “suspects,” before soldiers worked to disperse what the military described as a violent confrontation.

Common Dreams, by contrast, described settlers arriving first and began attacking the school, with Amin Abu Ulaya telling Reuters that settlers and Israel Defense Forces (IDF) soldiers entered the village and then shot at students at the school and other Palestinians who rushed to the scene.

Zeteo’s witness-based account placed three settlers, accompanied by three Israeli soldiers, near the western wall of the school, describing a “two-meter (6.5-foot) concrete barrier topped by another two meters of mesh” and stating they were firing toward the building and the courtyard.

Zeteo also described how, when parents began arriving and students poured out to find them, “That’s when the shooting intensified,” turning the courtyard meant to be the escape route into “the killing ground.”

The incident drew sharply different explanations and characterizations from Palestinian officials, Israeli military statements, and witnesses describing what happened at the school.

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Common Dreams

The BBC reported that the Mayor of al-Mughayyir, Amin Abu Alia, told the BBC that around 10 settlers approached the village along with soldiers and started shooting towards a school, and that the Palestinian health ministry blamed “settler gunfire.”

Reuters was cited in the BBC account through eyewitness Kathem al-Haj Ahmed, 57, who said, “The school was surprised by herds of settlers, who attacked the school along with the army,” and added, “So they [the school] started to call the people to come and escort their children home, and that is when the settlers shot from one side and the army from the other.”

Common Dreams included a Reuters-based quote from Kathem Al-Haj-Ahmed, 57, saying, “This is our reality in al-Mughayyir village; they aim to displace us, and both the army and the settlers are exchanging roles among them.”

Zeteo quoted principal Bassam Abu Assaf describing the attack as direct gunfire and saying, “They intended to harm the students. The fire was direct and heavy.”

The BBC stated that the IDF spokesperson said the reservist “has been suspended pending an investigation,” and the Palestinian foreign ministry condemned the incident as “terrorist attack and massacre carried out by settler gangs, in full co-ordination with the Israeli occupation army.”

While the core facts of a school attack in al-Mughayyir with two Palestinians killed were consistent across multiple reports, the framing and emphasis varied between outlets and even within their descriptions of who fired and why.

The BBC centered the Israeli military narrative around stones thrown at an Israeli vehicle and a reservist who opened fire at “suspects,” while also quoting the Palestinian foreign ministry’s condemnation of a “terrorist attack and massacre carried out by settler gangs, in full co-ordination with the Israeli occupation army.”

Haaretz

CBC similarly described the Israeli deployment after stones were thrown and said soldiers “worked to disperse” a violent confrontation, while also quoting Amin Abu Ulaya describing “scenes of panic in the village as parents raced to the school in search of their children.”

Zeteo emphasized the physical layout and the immediacy of the gunfire, describing a “two-meter (6.5-foot) concrete barrier topped by another two meters of mesh” and stating that “That’s when the shooting intensified,” turning the courtyard into “the killing ground.”

Common Dreams framed the event as part of “escalating ethnic cleansing efforts” and included a claim that a paramedic said at least three settlers deliberately fired at children attempting to escape from classrooms from a position approximately 50 meters away, describing it as “close to sniping.”

Haaretz’s brief report stated that “Israeli settlers shot dead two Palestinians” and cited the Red Crescent emergency service in Ramallah, while the Washington Post framed the incident as an Israeli army reservist killing two Palestinians near a school east of Ramallah.

The school attack was presented by outlets as part of a wider pattern of settler violence and Israeli military actions in the West Bank, with UN-linked figures and descriptions of displacement and settlement expansion appearing in the reporting.

“Democracy Dies in Darkness By Sam Metz, Samy Magdy and Imad Isseid | AP AL-MUGHAYYIR, West Bank — An Israeli army reservist shot and killed two Palestinians near a school east of Ramallah on Tuesday morning, authorities said, in the latest episode of The Palestinian Ministry of Health said that 14-year-old Aws al-Naasan and 32-year-old Jihad Abu Naim were killed in an attack by Israeli settlers and soldiers on 0Comments Most Read Jonathan Edwards and Dan Diamond Trump fought to keep the ballroom fundraising contract secret”

The Washington Post

The BBC said Tuesday’s incident was the latest attack in what the UN has called a surge in settler violence, reporting that “Six were killed in March” when the UN documented more than 200 settler attacks resulting in casualties or property damage.

Zeteo

The BBC also stated that the UN has said that “some 1,750 Palestinians have also been displaced by settler violence and Israeli access restrictions so far this year.”

CBC described al-Mughayyir as an “epicentre of clashes,” saying Palestinians reported “dozens of attacks in 2025, including lethal shootings, arson and vandalism,” and it said the main road leading to al-Mughayyir has been frequently closed by a military gate.

Common Dreams connected the attack to a longer timeline, stating that the slain boy’s father was also killed by settlers in 2019 and that Tuesday’s shooting occurred about 15 miles from where a Palestinian family was massacred by Israeli troops while traveling in their car in Tammum in March.

In the immediate aftermath, the BBC said the incident was under review, while the IDF spokesperson said the reservist “has been suspended pending an investigation,” and Haaretz reported that the Red Crescent emergency service in Ramallah said two Palestinians were shot dead.