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.
Al-Mughayir, Kh. Abu Falah, Ramallah District: Over two days, Israeli settlers set fire to Palestinian fields and a house and attacked residents with stones
The damage in H.A.'s farmhouse, torched by settlers. Photo: Mohammad Romaneh, B’Tselem
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Masked settlers going down towards the farmland, 6 May 2025. Used under Section 27a
On Tuesday, 6 May 2025, about 30 residents of al-Mughayir were working their land in the Marj Sia’ area, which lies between the villages of al-Mughayir and Khirbet Abu Falah. At around 1:00 P.M., about 15 to 30 settlers came down from the direction of an outpost established about a year earlier on a hill north of the Marj Sia’ area, all masked and some armed with axes, wooden sticks and pepper spray. They approached to within about 10 to 15 meters of the farmers and began attacking them with stones. The farmers tried to fend off the attackers and threw stones back at them. In the meantime, some residents moved their tractors and vehicles away from the area, fearing the settlers would reach and torch them. Outnumbered by the settlers and overrun by their violence, the Palestinian residents were soon forced to retreat, as the settlers gave chase and continued throwing stones. Meanwhile, more settlers arrived at the fields the residents were forced out of and set them on fire.
At around 2:00 P.M., two military vehicles arrived, prompting some settlers to flee. The soldiers spoke with the settlers who remained, and they returned to the outpost. Nevertheless, the soldiers stopped the residents from returning to their land to extinguish the fire and protect their property, firing live rounds and tear gas canisters at anyone who tried to return.
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One of the windows smashed by the settlers in H.A.’s house. Photo: Mohammad Romaneh, B’Tselem
The next day, Wednesday, 7 May 2025, at around 6:00 A.M., military and police forces accompanied by a bulldozer arrived and began demolishing and evacuating the outpost. According to media reports, during the evacuation, settlers attacked a bus carrying Border Police officers with stones, lightly injuring an officer in the head.
At around 10:00 P.M. that night, about five masked settlers arrived at farmland east of the village of Khirbet Abu Falah, set fire to a house, burning everything inside, and shattering all the windows. They attempted to set fire to a nearby sheep pen, but failed as the structure is made of metal. The settlers did, however, manage to set several fires in the area around the entrance to the house before the owner came and shined his car headlights at them, at which point, they fled.
That same night, settlers set fire to several farmhouses on land belonging to the village of Turmusaya, about 500 meters from the homes of residents of the village of Abu Falah.
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Soldiers going down to one of the fields torched by settlers, 6 May 2025. Used under Section 27a
A.A., a 34-year-old father of five from al-Mughayir spoke about the settler attack and arson in a testimony he gave B’Tselem field researcher Mohammad Romaneh on 8 May 2025:
I am a farmer and a shepherd. Until December 2024, I lived in the al-Khalayel area in Wadi Qatuniyah, which is south of the village of al-Mughayir, but because of repeated settler attacks under the protection of the occupation forces, I was forced to leave the area on 29 December 2024. Now I live in a house owned by my family in the center of the village. I had to move the flock to a rented shed nearby.
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Settlers attacking residents with stones while fields they torched burn, 6 May 2025. Used under Section 27a
On Tuesday, 6 May 2025, at around 6:00 A.M., I went out with a friend from the village to the Marj Sia’ area, west of the village, to work in the fields. There were about 30 people in the area, and we worked together. Everything was calm until noon, and then we saw settlers gathering near the outpost that was built on a hill about 300 meters from the area.
About 50 minutes later, when we reached the middle of the area, about 15 settlers came down from the hill and approached us. When they got within 10 to 15 meters of us, they attacked us with stones, and there was mutual stone-throwing between them and the residents. It lasted 15 to 20 minutes, and as it was going on, we managed to remove the farming equipment from the area. About 10 to 12 of us stayed behind to repel the settlers' attack. Meanwhile, another group of settlers arrived, bringing their number up to about 30. They were all masked, most carrying axes, sticks or pepper spray. As a result, we were forced to retreat, and the settlers chased after us and kept throwing stones at us. In the meantime, another 15 to 20 settlers arrived and started fires in the area we had been driven out of.
At around 2:00 P.M., two army vehicles arrived. The soldiers chased after the settlers, who were still setting fires, and the settlers fled westward. After the army drove the settlers away, the army vehicles stood on the main road. In the meantime, a group of about 30 settlers continued throwing stones at the residents about 100 to 150 meters away from the army, out of the soldiers’ line of sight. A few minutes later, a new group of settlers came from the outpost to the western part of the area, and when the army went there, it also found the settlers who continued throwing stones and damaging property. The soldiers spoke with the settlers, and after a few minutes the settlers left the area.
After that, the army fired live rounds and tear gas canisters at us and prevented us from returning to the area to put out the fires and continue working. The army vehicles stood on the main road for about half an hour and didn’t let anyone in. When the army was sure the settlers had left, the vehicles were moved to the edge of the dirt road leading from the area to the outpost and stayed there until late at night.
H.A., a 34-year-old father of five from Khirbet Abu Falah, spoke about the arson attack on his house and the attempted arson at his sheep pen in a testimony he gave B’Tselem field researcher Mohammad Romaneh on 8 May 2025:
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The damage in H.A.'s farmhouse, torched by settlers. Photo: Mohammad Romaneh, B’Tselem
My family and I have a house in an agricultural area east of the village of Abu Falah, on lands belonging to Turmusaya. There is a large sheep pen behind it, with 150 head of sheep. I live in this house to watch over and care for the sheep, while the rest of my family, my parents and my brother and his family, live in the village of Abu Falah.
On Wednesday, 7 May 2025, I fed the sheep at around 6:00 P.M and then pulled the large iron windows of the pen shut, locked the pen and the house, and drove to our house in the village. I had dinner with the family and then went to deliver equipment for repair in the village.
At around 10:00 P.M., as I was driving back home, I suddenly saw five or six people in the agricultural area, about five to 10 meters from our house. They were dressed in black; their faces were covered, and under their shirts, I saw dangling tassels [tzitzit]. The house was on fire, and I gathered the settlers had torched it. Flames and smoke were coming out of it.
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The sheep pen the settlers tried to set on fire next to H.A.’s house. Photo: Mohammad Romaneh, B’Tselem
When I saw the settlers, I turned my car toward them and switched on the high beams. They fled east through the fields. I didn’t chase them, even though I didn’t see any weapons on them, because I was afraid that they might be hiding weapons or that there were more settlers hiding in the area. I sent a message on a private group with details of the incident. Then I tried to get into the house to put out the fire, but I couldn’t get through the door because of the thick smoke and flames. Within 10 to 15 minutes, some young guys from the villages of Abu Falah and al-Mughayir arrived, as well as a Turmusaya council fire truck. We all tried to put out the fire in the house together.
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The sheep pen the settlers tried to set on fire next to H.A.’s house. Photo: Mohammad Romaneh, B’Tselem
It took us about half an hour to completely extinguish it. I went into the house to check on it and saw that the fire had consumed all the furniture (sofas, beds), and the whole house was covered in soot. Inside, I found four or five small containers, each about five centimeters long. I think they were containers of flammable material that the settlers used to start fires. They broke the windowpanes and threw the containers inside.
The settlers also tried to set fire to the sheep pen attached to the house. I saw some burn marks under its windows, but the fire did not catch because it’s made of metal, and all the windows were closed with heavy iron shutters. As I mentioned earlier, before I left, I locked all the windows and doors of the pen tightly. The settlers also started several fires in the area near the entrance to the house.
That night, settlers also set fire to other farmhouses, about 500 meters from the homes of residents of Khirbet Abu Falah, on lands belonging to Turmusaya.
