West Bank Settler Ethnic Cleansing and Insurrection

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Masked Israeli settlers attacked Palestinians and set fire to property in a pair of villages in the occupied West Bank on Tuesday before clashing with Israeli soldiers sent to break up their rampage, the Israeli military and Palestinian officials said.

“Four Palestinians were injured and evacuated for medical treatment,” the Israel Defense Forces said in a statement Tuesday. Security forces used “riot dispersal means” to break up the mob in the Beit Lid and Deir Sharaf villages “and apprehended several Israeli citizens,” the statement added.

After the masked individuals fled and regrouped close by near the Baron Industrial Zone, the IDF said civilians “attacked IDF soldiers who were operating in the area and caused damage to a military vehicle.”

The Palestinian Red Crescent said it treated three people who had been beaten with sticks and stones. Israeli police said four Israeli suspects were arrested and held for questioning.

The Palestinian economy ministry said in a statement that preliminary investigations had revealed the attackers had targeted warehouses belonging to a food production company “and smashed windows and other property.” Four trucks and two vehicles belonging to employees had been set on fire, the statement added.

Israeli President Isaac Herzog in a post on X condemned what he called the “shocking and serious” attacks. “Such violence against civilians and IDF soldiers crosses a red line and I strongly condemn it,” he wrote.

Several senior members of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government have close ties to West Bank settlers, including his ultranationalist National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, a hard-line settler leader who oversees the police.

News of the attacks came after the Palestinian branch of the Switzerland-based nongovernmental child rights organization Defense for Children International said in a statement that it had obtained documentation that showed a 13-year-old boy had died on Tuesday of tear gas inhalation.

Aysam Jihad Labib Naser was harvesting olives with his family on Oct. 11 in the north of the West Bank “when Israeli soldiers heavily bombarded the area with tear gas and fired several tear gas canisters.”

This had caused “him to choke severely and collapse,” the statement said. Although he was transferred to a nearby hospital, he remained in “critical condition in the cardiac intensive care unit until he died,” it added.

The Israeli army's command in the West Bank acknowledged that in recent months there has been an increase in Jewish terrorism in the area, but said it stems from what it described as "fringe anarchist teenagers."

A source in the IDF's Central Command said in a briefing on Wednesday that "these teenagers need intervention from welfare and education institutions… they don't represent 560,000 Israeli settlers."

At the same time, IDF Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir condemned the violent incidents. "The IDF will not tolerate a criminal minority tarnishing a law-abiding public," he said. "These actions violate our values, cross a red line, and divert forces' attention from their mission: protecting settlements and carrying out offensive operations. We are determined to stop this phenomenon and will act firmly until justice is served."

The source in the IDF's West Bank command noted that in October, there were 86 incidents of Israeli nationalist crime in the West Bank, compared with 25 incidents during the same period last year.
"These incidents could destabilize the entire security situation here," the source said. He added that not every violent incident in the West Bank qualifies as terrorism, but emphasized that "anyone who burns a house with its residents inside is indeed a Jewish terrorist."

The source also commented on Defense Minister Israel Katz's prohibition on detaining Israelis in the West Bank without trial, while keeping such measures in place for Palestinians. "Detentions without trial are not under the IDF's Central Command authority; the command can issue house arrest orders, and more than 30 such orders have recently been signed," the source said.

IDF Central Command officials said the army is attempting to cope with the rise in settler violence but largely places responsibility on the Israel Police.

"Currently, our tools are limited to apprehending the violent settlers and filing complaints," the army source said. "These teenagers who were detained were handed over to the police, and complaints were filed against them. Except for one who remained in custody, the others were released."

According to the IDF source, the army lacks sufficient means to deal with the violence. "For example, if these teens now go to a park in Jerusalem and establish an outpost, the consequences there will be more significant than what happens here in the West Bank. These outposts persist because of government funding."

In many cases, the IDF itself turns a blind eye to settler violence. Rather than acting against soldiers who participate in the violence, the army refers the matter to the IDF's Military Police Investigations Unit.

At the same time, soldiers who participated in securing or escorting violent incidents told Haaretz that they are often deployed after the events have ended and are instructed to disperse the participants without detaining the attacking settlers.

Last Saturday, the UN released a report stating that the number of Israeli settler violence incidents in the West Bank in October was the highest since January 2006, when the UN began documenting them.

According to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), 264 cases of settler violence were recorded that month, averaging more than eight attacks per day. Israeli security data is lower; as of the end of October, the IDF recorded 704 incidents of nationalist crime, compared with 675 in all of 2024.

Who are the settlers?
The individuals involved in recent attacks are overwhelmingly young, male, and associated with the so-called "hilltop youth" - a loosely organised, highly ideological Jewish settler subculture.

These settlers inhabit outposts in the hills of the West Bank, often established without state approval but tolerated or later legalised by Israeli authorities.

This group has much in common with the broader settler population, which includes half a million Israeli citizens living illegally in settlements across the West Bank.

But the hilltop youth also occupy a distinct ideological space: mixing their ultra-radical, far-right religious nationalism, Jewish zealotry, with a deep distrust of state institutions. They view all of the occupied West Bank - referred to in ideological circles as 'Judea and Samaria' - as a divinely promised land, and consider any Israeli attempt to restrict settlement activity a betrayal of this mission.

Their worldview draws on a fusion of religious messianism, ultra-nationalism, and extreme racist anti-Palestinian sentiment. In recent years, many have also come to see the Israeli state itself as an impediment to their goals, especially when it attempts to evacuate illegal outposts or on the few occasions when settlers are held to account for violence against Palestinians.

The groups frequently launch unprovoked, violent, and sometimes fatal attacks against local Palestinian farmers, Israeli left-wing activists, and even the military.

Why are they attacking the Israeli army?
For a growing number of radical settlers, the Israeli army is no longer a symbol of national defence - it is seen as complicit in undermining their religious-nationalist project. Soldiers tasked with dismantling illegal outposts or arresting settlers are viewed as traitors. One reservist reported being called a "Nazi" and "murderer" during Sunday's riot in Binyamin. Others have received death threats, including against their families.

This growing hostility reflects the perception among extremist settlers that the state has turned against them, even as top government ministers openly support the expansion of illegal settlements across Palestinian land.

A group of Jewish settlers in the West Bank set fire to and vandalized a Palestinian mosque near Salfit, north of Ramallah, late on Wednesday night.

Graffiti containing racist remarks was found on the walls of the mosque, which included messages to IDF Central Command Chief Avi Bluth, who referred to Jewish violence against Palestinians as terrorism.

The graffiti read, “Not afraid of Avi Bluth.”

Other graffiti messages read, “Keep condemning,” “And He will repay His enemies,” and “Muhammad is a pig.”

No injuries were reported from the Wednesday night incident.

'The ground is burning,' Left-wing org. Peace Now says
Peace Now, a non-profit Israeli organization that advocates for a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, made a statement on the Wednesday night arson attack.
“The ground is burning, this is the time to wake up and look reality in the eye. This is no longer a matter of a minority or a few bad actors," they said.

"This is a large and organized Jewish terror militia, backed and funded by the government of Israel, carrying out violent and systematic ethnic cleansing of Palestinians as part of a deliberate plan for de facto annexation. All heads of the relevant systems must act together to eradicate settler terror and restore security,” Peace Now stated.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Thursday that settler violence in the occupied West Bank could have direct implications on the truce in Gaza.

“There is certainly some concern that events in the West Bank could have repercussions that could undermine what we are doing in Gaza,” Rubio told reporters.

“We don’t expect that to happen, and we will do everything we can to ensure that it doesn’t,” he said.

Israeli settlers have been shooting at foreign solidarity activists and Palestinian farmers, and setting fire to olive trees across the West Bank.

The Palestinian Authority’s Colonisation and Wall Resistance Commission (CWRC) said that since the harvest began in the first week of October, there have been at least 158 attacks across the West Bank.

More than 15,000 trees have been attacked since October 2024, the CWRC said.

The UN agency for Palestinian refugees, Unrwa, has condemned the alarming surge in Israeli settler attacks targeting Palestinian olive farmers across the West Bank.

“October 2025 is on track to be the most violent month since Unrwa began tracking settler violence in 2013,” the agency said in a statement.

The Palestinian Ministry of Endowments and Religious Affairs said it has recorded 27 Israeli settler intrusions into Jerusalem's Al-Aqsa Mosque compound in the last month.

The Israel Defense Forces announced a new closed military zone around the Palestinian village of Burin in the West Bank on Friday, shortly before hundreds of left-wing activists and volunteers were due to arrive to assist Palestinians with their olive harvest.

The visit had been planned as part of a broad effort to help Palestinians safely harvest their olives against the backdrop of repeated violence against the harvesters at the hands of extremist Israelis.

The blockade of the activists came amid accusations that the security forces have repeatedly failed to stop extremist settlers from carrying out the attacks.

After being prevented from reaching their destination, the activists staged an impromptu protest, where they were joined by MK Gilad Kariv of the left-wing Democrats alliance.

The IDF has issued several closed military zone orders throughout the West Bank since the start of the olive harvest season last month, many of which prevented Palestinians from reaching their own land to harvest olives, after what was already a difficult growing season due to low rainfall last winter.

Friday’s effort to assist Palestinians from Burin, near Nablus, was arranged by left-wing groups Peace Now and Rabbis for Human Rights, along with others. In total, seven busloads of activists were expected to join the harvest.

Clashes broke out between security forces and Hilltop Youth on Monday during the evacuation and demolition of an illegal settlement outpost constructed atop the Tzur Misgavi peak in the Judean hills, in the Gush Etzion region of the West Bank.

The demolition began following a request from the head of the Gush Etzion Regional Council, Yaron Rosenthal.

"It is impossible to develop Gush Etzion when a handful of people seize hundreds of acres and build makeshift structures on land designated for the establishment of thousands of housing units for the next generation," Rosenthal told The Jerusalem Post.

Some 25 families live in the settlement, which is an expansion of Mitzad that did not receive legal status prior to its establishment.

The evacuation came following an order signed by the Central Command chief after various incidents of criminal activity and serious incidents of violence occurred in the area, according to the IDF.

The settlement is flourishing because we work in coordination and planning. This is a difficult day, but if we do not stop the illegal construction today, we will pay a heavy price for the future of the settlement tomorrow," Rosenthal said.

Israeli settlers vandalized and set fire to Palestinian property across the northern West Bank overnight, Palestinian sources reported.

Settlers reportedly set fire to four residential buildings in a village near Salfit. Settlers also reportedly set fire to a farm in a village outside of Ramallah and damaged a nursery in a village near Nablus.

It was also reported that settlers beat an 85-year-old man in Wadi Rahim in the South Hebron Hills, near the settlement of Susiya.

According to testimonies, they attacked him while he was on his way to prayer. For several days, settlers sprayed graffiti on houses near the scene of the attack.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu held an emergency meeting on Thursday evening to address the growing concerns over the failure of the IDF, Shin Bet, and Israel Police to contain escalating violence carried out by Jewish extremists in the West Bank.

The discussion occurred as dozens of young Jewish men entered the Palestinian village of Huwara and set fire to vehicles and buildings. The attack was reportedly carried out in retaliation for the recent killing of Aharon Cohen, 70, a resident of Kiryat Arba, who was shot dead this week during a terrorist attack at Gush Junction.

During the security assessment, Central Command head Maj.-Gen. Avi Balut warned: “The writing is on the wall. There are normal residents living on the farms, and in the outposts, there are disorderly lawbreakers and rioters.”

National Missions Minister Orit Strock emphasized distinctions between settlers, saying: “There are farms and there are outposts, and they are different.”

National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir said, “There are good people in the outposts as well. It cannot be that you evacuate an outpost, while on the other hand, Arabs who also build illegally in the West Bank are not evacuated.”

Shin Bet chief Maj.-Gen. (res.) David Zini, speaking to the meeting’s legal adviser, added: “If taking over land is terror, then taking over land in the Negev is also terror.” He called for coordinated action: “The phenomenon must be dealt with full force. This must be done through joint efforts between all bodies if the aim is to eradicate the phenomenon,” Channel 12 reported.

Zini also expressed his support of Ben-Gvir's proposed death penalty bill for terrorists, saying that "it is a law that will that will deter [terrorism]."

"There will be no preventing it," IDF Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir said during the debate over the bill. "But judges should be given discretion."

IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir has reportedly warned that Israel’s failure to curb the recent surge in settler violence across the West Bank risks undermining the military’s ability to manage critical fronts in Gaza, Lebanon and Syria.

According to a Channel 12 news report Friday, Zamir warned during unspecified internal deliberations that “if we don’t stop the Jewish rioters,” Israel could find itself forced to divert significant military resources away from the northern and southern borders to deal with escalating chaos in the West Bank.

“These anarchists could set the area aflame in a moment,” he was quoted as saying, creating a situation in which forces would need to be “immediately diverted from the Gaza and Lebanon borders… without there being any security interest in doing so right now.”

Zamir’s reported warning came after a wave of reported settler attacks overnight Thursday to Friday, during which Palestinian communities across the West Bank said settlers torched buildings, vandalized property, assaulted residents and burned more than a dozen vehicles in seven separate attacks. No arrests were reported.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Sunday that Israel “will take very forceful action” against the “riots” in the West Bank, calling the country “a nation of laws.” It was his first public remark on the recent violence, following months of international criticism and repeated calls from Washington to curb settler attacks.

Earlier this week, the security establishment reportedly drafted new recommendations to address Jewish nationalist crime in the West Bank, following what officials describe as a sharp rise in serious incidents over the past year.

Four foreign nationals were hospitalized after reportedly being attacked by a group of extremist settlers on Saturday night, according to government officials and the alleged victims of the attack.

The foreign nationals, three of whom were Italian and the fourth a Canadian national, were treated at a hospital in Jericho on Sunday, one of the apparent victims told Agence France-Presse.

“Three Italian international volunteers were attacked last night by Israeli settlers," Italy’s Foreign Ministry confirmed in a statement, while adding the group was "still in shock from the incident."

The four wounded foreign nationals were “activists,” according to Palestinian Authority-run WAFA.

“Four foreigners arrived at the hospital this morning after being beaten by settlers, according to what they reported,” Riyad Eid, director of the Jericho government hospital, told AFP. "They were suffering from bruises on the face for some of them, and on the chest, and one of them was beaten in a sensitive area.
"They were examined, given X-rays and ultrasound scans, provided with the necessary treatment, and then discharged."

One of the anonymous activists told AFP that 10 settlers attacked them while they were sleeping in the Duyuk area.

Two of the 10 settlers were armed with guns, while the others held sticks, he said.

"They kicked me multiple times in the face, in the ribs, in the hip,” he said. "It lasted about 10 to 15 minutes. And then they took all of our things. They stole my passport, my phone, my wallet, my bank cards, and then they left.

"We had to have X-rays, painkillers. Our friend was beaten more severely than we were."

Qatari-run Al Jazeera released footage of the activist’s injuries, with apparent bruising and cuts to their faces.

Officials condemn attack by West Bank settlers on foreign nationals
"They are injured but not seriously; they are returning to Ramallah and should be reached this afternoon," Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani told local media on Sunday afternoon.

"That said, we cannot help but reiterate our condemnation of what is happening: just the other day, we issued a joint statement from Italy, France, Germany, and Great Britain condemning what the settlers are doing in the West Bank.”

Tajani added to La Repubblica that "no idea of ​​annexation must be allowed. We are absolutely against it: the Palestinian civilian population must be respected. It is extremely serious that Christian villages are being attacked, not because Christians have more rights than other Palestinians, but because they represent an element of stability and moderation throughout the Middle East.

"We also appeal to the Israeli government to stop the settlers and prevent the continuation of this violence, which serves no purpose in achieving the peace plan we are all working towards," he added. "We must move from the first to the second phase, and initiatives like this certainly do not help to calm people's spirits."

Germany, Italy, France, and Britain called on Israel to abide by international law and protect Palestinians in the territories in a joint statement on Thursday.

"We - France, Germany, Italy, the United Kingdom - strongly condemn the massive increase of settler violence against Palestinian civilians and call for stability in the West Bank," said the foreign ministers of those countries in the statement.

One of the four activists has been placed on bed rest for three days, while the others were discharged from the hospital, La Repubblica reported.

The attack—carried out by Israeli settlers—caused material damage but no injuries. Father Bashar Fawadleh, parish priest of the Latin Church of Taybeh, visited the affected family soon after the incident.

“They thanked me and said they value the Church’s presence,” he explains. “But we need stronger support to safeguard our people and our land. Taybeh is the last Christian village in the area, and we need global cooperation to help it survive.”
From celebration to violence

The assault came the day after the opening of the parish’s Christmas events, attended by diplomats from eight countries linked historically to the Holy Land, as well as visitors from Ramallah, Jerusalem, and nearby towns. After midnight, settlers vandalised property and left graffiti on a private home. “These are the same messages used across the West Bank,” Father Fawadleh notes.

Despite the repeated incidents—six so far this year—the parish priest insists: “We remain here. We do not feel safe, but we continue with our daily life. We must continue celebrating Christmas.”

Hope amid fear
Each new attack increases anxiety and prompts some to consider leaving, the priest says. He hopes international attention and diplomatic engagement can support vulnerable communities east of Ramallah. “Our hope does not fade,” he adds. “It is the hope of the third day, of the empty tomb—the hope of the Resurrection.”

1,680 attacks since January
According to a recent UN OCHA report, 1,680 settler attacks have been documented since the start of the year in more than 270 Palestinian communities—an average of five per day. The olive harvest remains particularly affected, with 178 incidents recorded in October and November across 88 localities.

Hilltop Youth (Hebrew: נוער הגבעות, No'ar HaGva'ot) are extremist Hardal settler youth operating in the Israeli-occupied West Bank. They are known for establishing outposts without an Israeli legal basis and conducting settler violence against Palestinians.

The Hilltop Youth often grow their hair into long, wide sidelocks (payot) and wear large knitted kippahs. They have been involved in numerous violent incidents,including the Duma arson attack, Kidnapping and murder of Mohammed Abu Khdeir and Church of the Multiplication arson attack.[

They were sanctioned by the European Union and Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) on 2024.

On 16 November 1998, in what was viewed as a declaration intended to thwart peace talks, and in particular the implementation of his political rival Benjamin Netanyahu's Wye River agreement with the Palestinian National Authority, the then-Israeli Defense Minister Ariel Sharon urged settler youth to "grab the hilltops", adding,

"Everyone that's there should move, should run, should grab more hills, expand the territory. Everything that's grabbed will be in our hands. Everything we don't grab will be in their hands."

People proceeded to heed his exhortation and outposts proliferated, in a practice often called "creating facts on the ground", but many would later feel betrayed by Sharon when the Israeli West Bank barrier he devised in 2005 cut off many of the illegal communities from the expanded Israel Sharon envisaged at that time.

The example of figures like Netanel Ozeri, who moved his family out of the safety of Kiryat Arba's perimeters to build an outpost, Hilltop 26, on nearby Palestinian land, was also important: Ozeri was later shot dead by Palestinian gunman.

Ideology
According to terrorism expert Ami Pedahzur, ideologically, Hilltop Youth espouse a Kahanist worldview, favouring "deportation, revenge, and annihilation of Gentiles that posed a threat to the people of Israel".

The youth are influenced by religious Zionist ideals, which include a dedication to building and farming the land, as well as devoting time to learning Torah. Many have studied in the Od Yosef Chai yeshiva under Rabbi Yitzchak Ginsburgh, who developed the metaphor comparing Israel to a "nut" which had to be cracked in order to allow the fruit, the people, out. In 2019, he published an essay Time to Crack the Nut updating this metaphor. In addition to basing their ideals on the teachings of prominent rabbis such as Avraham Yitzchak Kook and Rabbi Shmuel Tal, some regard Avri Ran as a spiritual leader, or "father", of the movement, though he does not see himself as such. The philosophy of some in the movement is expressed by a mixture of distrust of the Israeli government and a desire to re-establish the Ancient Kingdom of Israel.

Activities
The Hilltop Youth are a "loosely organized, anarchy-minded group", of some several hundred youths around a hard core of scores of violent activists often noted for establishing illegal/disputed outposts outside existing settlements. According to Danny Rubinstein they are formed into private militias.Their numbers (2009) are estimated to be around 800, with approximately 5,000 others who share their ideological outlook. They completely dissociate themselves from Israeli institutions, and identify themselves with the Land of Israel. They settle on hilltops in areas densely crowded by Palestinians.

Violence
Members linked to the group have been accused of engaging in Israeli settler violence, including vandalism of Palestinian schools and mosques, stealing sheep from Palestinian flocks and the destruction of their centuries-old olive groves, or stealing their olive harvests. This last practice was endorsed by Rabbi Mordechai Eliyahu on a visit to a hilltop outpost, Havat Gilad, where he issued a rabbinical ruling that, "The ground on which the trees are planted is the inheritance of the Jewish people, and the fruit of the plantings was seeded by the goyim in land that is not theirs." They seize land not by any official method: they claim a hilltop by setting up an encampment, and then claim the land nearby, whether under Palestinian cultivation or not, or by uprooting Palestinian trees and shooting in the air if any Palestinian comes near to the new outpost.

Settlers have long been accused of carrying out what are called "price tag attacks", a term used for targeting Palestinian property in revenge for outposts demolished by the Israeli military, although no one as yet has actually been convicted of having been involved in such vandalism.

In May 2025, during the demolition of three illegal structures in the West Bank, Hilltop Youth members threw stones at a bus carrying Israel Border Police officers.

In 30 June 2025, A group of extremist settlers, many identified with the Hilltop Youth, attacked an Israeli military base at Kafr Malik and destroyed military equipment at the place. IDF forces dispersed them with stun grenades.

Labor
Many of the Hilltop Youth feel that the mainstream settler movement has lost its way, opting for cheap housing close to major cities, built by local Arab labor, with tall fences and no space between their homes. The Youth often engage in organic farming and shun Palestinian labor in favor of Hebrew labor. 2.5% of eggs consumed in Israel are calculated to be produced on the outposts run by the Hilltop Youth leader Avri Ran.

Expulsion
In 18 May 2025, settlers from Hilltop Youth built an illegal outpost 100 meters from Al-Mughayyir, Ramallah. The 150 Palestinian inhabitants were forced to leave their homes. The settlers harassed and threw stones at the Palestinian villagers as they tried to take their belongings and dismantle the buildings. Police and soldiers were present in the village but did not intervene.

Government response
The Hilltop Youth has been condemned in the past by figures within Israel's government, with Former Prime Minister Ehud Barak referring to the group as unacceptable "homemade terror, Jewish-made terror".

A threatening presence of hilltop youth in Wadi Auja aiming to discourage Palestinian herds from approaching the water source

In August 2024, The Israeli Security Agency's head Ronen Bar wrote: "The 'hilltop youth' trend has long become a bed of violent activity against Palestinians … it's the use of violence to create intimidation", to "fear monger, meaning terrorism."Such acts were now "broad, open activity", wrote Bar, now "using weapons of war. Sometimes using weapons that were distributed by the state lawfully … attacking the security forces … receiving legitimacy from certain officials in the establishment". As a result, the hilltop youth experienced "loss of fear of administrative detention due to the conditions they get in prison and the money given to them upon their release by MKs, together with legitimization and praise".

Notable members
Meir Ettinger
Meir Ettinger (born 4 October 1991), the grandson of Meir Kahane, previously resided at Ramat Migron outpost, and later the Givat Ronen outpost near Har Brakha, was subsequently deported, by administrative order, from the West Bank and Jerusalem, taking up residence with his family in Safed. He has attracted many followers and in addition to public speaking, he has published a blog at the pro-Hilltop Youth website "The Jewish Voice" (Hebrew: הקול היהודי). He was arrested for the "spy affair", when settler youths were accused of maintaining an "operation room" to monitor IDF movements and warn outpost settlers of impending evacuations. After violating his house arrest terms, he was held in jail until the end of his trial, in which he was convicted following a plea-bargain for conspiring to gather military intelligence and sentenced to time served, approximately 6 months. In August 2015, following the arson at the Church of the Multiplication in June and the Duma arson attack, he was placed under administrative arrest for 6 months, which was extended by an additional 4 months. During his incarceration, he staged a hunger strike. In June 2016, following his release, he returned to reside in Safed, and is barred by administrative order from entering the West Bank, Jerusalem, and Yad Binyamin. In addition, he is forbidden, by administrative order, from contacting 92 people.

Three Israelis were arrested after settlers wounded three Palestinians and set fire to cars near Nablus in the northern West Bank on Thursday, according to the Palestinian Red Crescent Society and Israeli security forces.

However, footage from the attack showed at least a dozen people taking part in the attack at the al-Junaida dairy factory in the village of Deir Sharaf, and the mayor of nearby Beit Lid said it took Israeli security forces over an hour to disperse the attackers.

In a joint statement, the IDF and Israel Police said two Palestinians were hospitalized in moderate condition as a result of the attack. The Red Crescent reported three men, aged 48, 50 and 65, were hospitalized after being severely beaten.

According to WAFA, the Palestinian Authority’s official news agency, the 65-year-old suffered a broken arm and the other two men suffered bruises to their bodies.

Security camera video showed at least a dozen masked individuals in hoodies outside a shed, hurling stones and attacking a man who was on his knees.

The man took blows to his back and face from at least four people who kicked him and two who beat him with clubs, until he fell over while the attackers fled.

The IDF and police said they arrested three suspects at the entrance to the nearby settlement of Shavei Shomron after receiving a report that “extremists” in the area set fire to four cars and assaulted Palestinians, including one who was inside one of the cars.

The suspects were taken for questioning at the Ariel police station, the joint statement said, adding that the IDF, Border Police and the Shin Bet were still searching the area and investigating the incident.

Hussein Hammadi, mayor of the Palestinian village of Beit Lid near where the incident took place, told AFP that the settlers attacked the main road passing near his village.

“Three cars were set on fire. A deaf person was seriously injured, and there were injuries caused by tear gas,” Hammadi said.

The whole incident lasted over an hour before Israeli forces dispersed the assailants with tear gas, Hammadi said.

“We demand that the security and law-enforcement authorities bring this violent handful to justice”, said Yossi Dagan, president of the northern West Bank Settlements Council, in a statement.

Over two dozen families from one of the few remaining Palestinian Bedouin villages in the West Bank’s Jordan Valley have packed up and fled their homes in recent days, saying harassment by Israeli settlers living in unauthorized outposts nearby has grown unbearable.

The village, Ras Ein el-Auja, was originally home to some 700 people from more than 100 families that have lived there for decades.

Twenty-six families already left on Thursday, scattering across the territory in search of safer ground, say rights groups. Several other families were packing up and leaving on Sunday.

“We have been suffering greatly from the settlers. Every day, they come on foot, or on tractors, or on horseback with their sheep into our homes. They enter people’s homes daily,” said Nayef Zayed, a resident, as neighbors took down sheep pens and tin structures.

Other residents pledged to stay put for the time being. That makes them some of the last Palestinians left in the area, said Sarit Michaeli, international director at B’Tselem, an Israeli rights group helping the residents.

She said that mounting settler violence has already emptied neighboring Palestinian hamlets in the dusty corridor of land stretching from Ramallah in the West to Jericho, along the Jordanian border, in the east.

The area is part of Area C, the 60 percent of the West Bank that has remained under full Israeli control under the Oslo peace accords signed in the 1990s. Since the war in Gaza erupted with the Hamas-led terror invasion of October 7, 2023, over 2,000 Palestinians — at least 44 entire communities — have been expelled by settler violence in the West Bank area, B’Tselem says.

The turning point for the village came in December, when settlers put up an outpost about 50 meters from Palestinian homes on the northwestern flank of the village, said Michaeli and Sam Stein, an activist who has been living in the village for a month.

Settlers strolled easily through the village at night. Sheep and laundry went missing. International activists had to begin escorting children to school to keep them safe.

“The settlers attack us day and night, they have displaced us, they harass us in every way,” said Eyad Isaac, another resident. “They intimidate the children and women.”

Michaeli said she’s witnessed settlers walk around the village at night, going into homes to film women and children and tampering with the village’s electricity.

The residents said they call the police frequently to ask for help — but it seldom arrives.

Settlement expansion has been promoted by successive Israeli governments over nearly six decades. But Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s far-right government, which has placed settler leaders in senior positions, has made it a top priority.

That growth has been accompanied by a spike in settler violence, much of it carried out by residents of outposts that are illegal under Israeli law. These outposts often begin with small farms or shepherding that are used to seize land, say Palestinians and anti-settlement activists. United Nations officials warn the trend is changing the map of the West Bank, entrenching Israeli presence in the area.

For now, displaced families of the village have dispersed between other villages near the city of Jericho and near Hebron further south, said residents. Some sold their sheep and are trying to move into the cities.

Others are just dismantling their structures without knowing where to go.

“Where will we go? There’s nowhere. We’re scattered,” said Zayed, the resident, “People’s situation is bad. Very bad.”