In recent years — and especially since 7 October 2023 — there has been a sharp increase in both the number and severity of settler attacks against Palestinians. The incidents reported on this blog do not reflect all incidents of settler violence in the West Bank, but only those that B’Tselem was able to document and investigate.
The place where the agricultural structure stood. Photo by ‘Amer ‘Aruri, B’Tselem
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The agricultural structure before and during the fire. Photo courtesy of local residents
On Sunday, 29 June 2025, at around 5:00 P.M., about seven settlers, most of them masked and at least one of them armed with a rifle, arrived at an agricultural area on the outskirts of the eastern neighborhood of the town of Hizma. Settlers had begun coming to the area sometime earlier, trying to steal sheep and pressure residents to leave. Town residents who noticed them went to the area and saw three or four soldiers behind the settlers, on a road leading to the settlement of Geva Binyamin (Adam), which was established about a kilometer northeast of Hizma around 1984.
The residents called for reinforcements and about 20 young men from the town gathered there and began throwing stones at the settlers from a distance of about 100 meters, in an attempt to drive them away and prevent them from getting close to the town’s homes. After a few minutes, the residents heard three shots, and one of them, G.’A., was hit in the shoulder by a bullet that penetrated the muscle and exited the other side of his shoulder. G.’A. was evacuated to a local clinic by the residents.
‘O.’A., who was in the area, heard gunfire from outside, and when he went out, he saw the settlers and the local men throwing stones at them. When he turned to leave the area, more shots were fired, and one of them hit his right calf. He was also hit by a fragment in the thigh. J.J., one of the young men who were present, supported him and tried to help him get into a car to evacuate him for medical treatment. As he was doing that, J.J. was shot in his left thigh, but still managed to drive himself and ‘O.’A to the clinic in Hizma, where they met G.’A. The three injured men received initial treatment at the clinic and were then evacuated by ambulance to the hospital in Ramallah.
Following the gunfire and the injuries, the town’s young men left the area for fear for their lives, and the settlers took advantage of their absence to set fire to an agricultural compound with fig and olive trees, cucumber and fava bean, as well as an agricultural structure. Military forces arrived in the area only an hour after the arson and advised the owner of the structure to file a complaint with the police.
B’Tselem field researcher ‘Amer ‘Aruri collected the testimonies on 3 July 2025:
G.’A. said:
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The agricultural structure set on fire by the settlers. Still from video footage courtesy of local residents
On 29 June 2025, at around 5:00 P.M., I was passing by the cemetery on the eastern side of Hizma on my way home, when I heard from people that settlers were near the agricultural structure that belongs to ‘Afif Rizeq in the eastern neighborhood. I went over there with other residents to see what was going on and to push them off, because in the time leading up to this, there had been several incidents in which settlers entered the area, tried to steal sheep and pressured residents to leave.
When I arrived in the area, I saw three masked settlers, and four others not far from them. I also saw three or four soldiers walking, far from the settlers, on the road that leads to the settlement of Adam (Geva Binyamin), at the bottom of the wadi.
About 20 young men from the town began throwing stones at the settlers to drive them away and stop them from getting close to the town’s homes. The stone-throwing went on for about 10 minutes. During that time, I heard three live rounds. I didn’t see who fired, but I was about 100 meters away from the settlers, and I’m sure the shots came from them.
One of the bullets hit my left shoulder, in the muscle area. Young men from the town evacuated me to the clinic in Hizma. While I was receiving initial treatment, two more young men who had been injured by gunfire were brought to the clinic. One had been injured in the thigh and one in the leg, and they were transferred from there to the hospital in Ramallah for treatment and surgery.
After receiving initial treatment at the clinic, I was also transferred to the hospital in Ramallah, where I was kept for one day. The bullet entered the muscle and exited the other side. I am now on sick leave for three months.
Afterwards, I learned that after the shooting, and after the young men dispersed and fled the area for fear for their lives, the settlers took advantage of the fact that no residents remained there and set fire to the agricultural structure.
‘O.’A. said in his testimony:
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The gunshot wound in ‘O.’A.’s leg. Photo by ‘Amer ‘Aruri, B’Tselem
On 29 June 2025, at around 5:00 P.M., while I was working in an agricultural structure in eastern Hizma, I heard live gunfire. I came out of the structure and saw four masked settlers, one of them armed with an M16 rifle, with three more standing not too far from them. I heard from people around me that a young man had been injured by the settlers’ gunfire.
About 20 young men from the town started throwing stones at the settlers, who were about 100 meters away from us, in an attempt to drive them away from the area. The stone-throwing lasted several minutes. During that time, they fired at me, and I was injured in the leg, in the right calf. When I heard the shots, I tried to turn around and run away, which is why I was hit there. In addition to the bullet, I was also injured by a fragment in my right thigh.
One of the young men, ‘J.’J., tried to help me and get me into his car to evacuate me from the area, but while he was lifting me, he was injured by gunfire in his left thigh. Despite his injury, he managed to drive the car and take me to the clinic in Hizma.
When we arrived at the clinic, G.’A., who was injured by the gunfire before us, was already there. At the clinic, they stopped the bleeding, and from there they transferred me and the guy who evacuated me, in an ambulance belonging to the Hizma municipality, to the hospital in Ramallah. G.’A. was also transferred there. I was kept in the hospital for a week and had surgery. I am now on sick leave for two months, and then I’ll need physiotherapy so that I can go back to putting weight on my leg.
