Israel demolishes home of Palestinian killed in July’s deadly West Bank shooting in Tell

Smoke rises during an Israeli controlled-demolition from the home of Palestinian Farouk Ramadan, who was involved and killed in clashes with Israeli settlers on July 24, killing two, in the Palestinian village of Tell in the occupied West Bank, 11 August 2026

Matan Golan, Rawan Suleiman and Yaniv Kubovich report in Haaretz on 11 August 2026:

Israeli forces on Tuesday demolished the home of Palestinian Farouk Ramadan in the West Bank village of Tell, days after an IDF investigation found that hundreds of Israeli settlers had entered the Palestinian Authority-controlled area without military authorization, leading to a deadly clash that left six people dead.

The army has accused Ramadan of killing Maj. Yuval Ezra, an Israeli artillery officer, during the confrontation late last month. Ramadan was among four Palestinians killed in the incident.

The controlled demolition targeted the upper floor of the Ramadan family’s three-story home. The IDF had previously issued a demolition order for the apartment, citing Ramadan’s involvement in the shooting.

The demolition came less than a week after the IDF published an investigation into the clash that found it could not determine who fired the shots that killed Israeli civilian Benayahu Mellet, a member of the Havat Gilad settlement’s civilian security squad.

The army has previously said it was examining the possibility that one of the two Israeli fatalities was caused by friendly fire.

The violence began on July 24 after a group of Israeli settlers entered the outskirts of Tell, near Nablus, during an unauthorized hike. The group had entered Area A, which is under Palestinian Authority control under the Oslo Accords, despite military commanders knowing that the tour had not been approved.

The IDF investigation found that troops were dispatched to accompany the settlers only after Palestinians began throwing stones at them. It also found that the force deployed was too small to escort a group of that size and contain the violent incident.

The confrontation escalated after a Palestinian seized the rifle of the Havat Gilad security coordinator. More than 30 rounds were fired during the incident by Israelis and the Palestinian who took the weapon, according to a Haaretz reconstruction based on eight videos from the scene.

Four Palestinians were killed in the clashes: brothers Ibrahim Hussein Ali Ramadan and Jawad Hussein Ali Ramadan, their cousin Farouk Adnan Ali Ramadan, and their relative Imran Ahmed Ali Ramadan. Another three Israelis and four Palestinians were wounded.

The investigation found that Ezra died during a confrontation with a Palestinian resident. Mellet was wounded and remained in the field for an extended period, receiving treatment only from a civilian medic for several minutes.

In the days following the incident, Israeli forces raided Tell and arrested Palestinian residents. Settlers also returned to the outskirts of the village and established outposts near the site of the clash.

The incident has continued to fuel tensions in the area. Settlers have since organized additional “memorial hikes” through Palestinian villages in memory of Mellet, including one a week after the shooting that again entered Area A under military protection.

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