Key facts
- Israeli settlers attacked Palestinian vehicles and homes in multiple locations across the occupied West Bank.
- Settlers set fire to homes and vehicles in villages near Jenin, wounding at least one person.
- Attacks included stone-throwing, physical assaults, and arson, occurring during the Eid al-Fitr holiday.
- Israeli forces were reported to have obstructed Palestinian movement and protected settlers during some attacks.
- The Israeli Defense Forces detained five civilians and confiscated weapons in connection with the incidents.
Israeli settlers carried out a wave of attacks across the occupied West Bank over the weekend, targeting Palestinian vehicles and homes, setting fires, and causing injuries. The violence, which occurred during the Eid al-Fitr holiday, has been described as a "night of fire" and a "widespread pogrom" by observers.
In the Jenin area, settlers stormed the village of al-Fandaqumiya and the town of Seilat al-Dahr, setting homes and vehicles ablaze and damaging additional houses. In Seilat al-Dahr, settlers also physically assaulted a resident, leaving him wounded. Footage verified by Al Jazeera showed homes engulfed in flames in both locations.
Further attacks were reported in Masafer Yatta, south of Hebron, where settlers wounded two Palestinians and arrested three others. In the Nablus region, settlers targeted the al-Masoudiya archaeological area and set fire to a tourist tent, while a four-wheel-drive vehicle was burned out in Jalud. Stone-throwing attacks on Palestinian vehicles were reported near Haris, west of Salfit, and near Rawabi Square in Ramallah.
The Palestinian Wafa news agency reported that Israeli forces obstructed Palestinian movement in several areas, including closing iron gates at village entrances, and were present during some of the settler attacks. The Palestine Red Crescent reported that at least three people suffered head wounds and were hospitalized, including a man shot in the foot and a woman suffering from smoke inhalation.
The Israeli Defense Forces stated they received reports of Israelis burning buildings and property, and later announced the detention of five Israeli civilians and the confiscation of weapons. The army's Chief of Staff, Eyal Zamir, described such attacks as "morally and ethically unacceptable."
Human rights groups have accused Israeli authorities of allowing settlers to operate with impunity, contributing to a strategy of land takeover. The violence has intensified amid the ongoing conflict in Gaza, with over 1,000 Palestinians killed in the West Bank since October 2023, according to UN figures.