Two Palestinian Teenagers Killed in West Bank Village Attack

Two Palestinian teenagers have been killed in an attack by Israeli settler militants and army troops on their village in the occupied West Bank, local officials and the Palestinian health ministry said, amid an uptick in violence by Jewish settlers in the territory.

The Palestinian health ministry said the two youths were ages 16 and 19 while a local official told Palestinian news agency WAFA they died in al-Mughayyir village near Ramallah.

The Israeli military said in a statement its forces had entered al-Mughayyir to provide security for police officers and an Israeli civilian seeking to retrieve livestock.

Israeli troops fired on and struck "key instigators" of a “violent disturbance” in which people threw stones at the forces, the military said, adding the incident was under investigation.

The attack comes amid a wave of intensified violence by settler militants in the occupied West Bank after a siege by settlers of Qusra village in August drew international condemnation.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government has spearheaded a rapid expansion of settlements in the West Bank, territory captured by Israel in a 1967 war. Israel has established dozens of new settlements and settler outposts in the area.

Rights groups say the increasing settler presence on the edge of Palestinian villages, like Qusra, is part of a wider effort by settlers to seize more land from Palestinians, further eating into territory where Palestinians aim to establish a state.

The deaths come after Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband on Tuesday said the UK would “reset” its policy on Israel in the coming weeks, as one of his ministers suggested goods coming out of Israeli settlements in the West Bank, a Palestinian territory, could be subject to sanctions.

Prime Minister Andy Burnham meanwhile warned that Israeli decisions over a controversial settlement could “end” the prospect of a two-state solution with Palestine.

Mr Miliband earlier said the Government is looking at how to stop British companies “financing, constructing or advertising new settlements” in the West Bank.

Speaking during Foreign Office questions, he branded it “the crossing of a red line, as it cuts through the heart of the West Bank and risks making a Palestinian state unviable”.

Mr Miliband said: “This Government will not acquiesce in the destruction of the two-state solution.

“We will act, and I will set out a comprehensive set of measures in the coming weeks.”

He added: “We need a comprehensive reset of our policy across the piece.

“Many members of the House on both sides have made very, very important points, not just about trade, but a whole set of issues, including around the ICJ (International Court of Justice) judgment on legality.

“I want a comprehensive reset of our approach on these issues because it is necessary, it is high time.”