An 18 year old Israeli settler was killed on Saturday after his all terrain vehicle was struck by a Palestinian car near Beit Imrin in the northern West Bank. Police said they were investigating whether the incident was a traffic accident or a deliberate attack. The teenager, Yehuda Sherman, was conducting what local settlement officials described as a land patrol with two other men, including his brother, who was lightly injured.

Settlement leaders alleged that the Palestinian driver accelerated toward the vehicle before impact, though authorities have not confirmed those details. Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich described the incident as 'murder' and offered condolences to the family, who are affiliated with his Religious Zionism party.

Following the death, settler activists called for protests across the West Bank, with messages demanding the annulment of the Oslo Accords and the expulsion of Palestinians. The incident comes amid a sharp rise in violence in the territory since the Gaza war began in October 2023, with increasing attacks involving both Palestinian assailants and Israeli settlers.

According to the Palestinian Authority health ministry, more than 1,000 Palestinians have been killed in the West Bank since the war began, while dozens of Israeli civilians and security personnel have died in attacks during the same period. Israeli military data also show a significant increase in nationalist crimes and settler violence over the past two years.