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.
Burqah, Ramallah District: Israeli settlers pepper sprayed a Palestinian farmer in the eyes. The next day, settlers returned to the site and fired in the air.
The Nawabit family’s tent compound. Photo: Mohammad Romaneh, B’Tselem
On Friday, 6 December 2024, shortly after midnight, while Muhammad Nawabit (55) was in one of his family’s tents on their agricultural land in the a-Sanam area, south of the village of Burqah, settlers showed up, pepper sprayed him in the face and left. Settlers set up an outpost on a nearby hill several days earlier.
The next day, 7 December 2024, settlers again arrived, shined flashlights on the tents, fired in the air, and left after a few minutes.