Armed Israeli settler ‘hikes’ aren’t new — but they’re becoming deadly
Israeli settlers near the Havat Gilad settlement in the northern West Bank, 9 May 2019
Aharon Porath and Roei Kleitman write in +972 on 26 August 2026:
Another settler “hiking trip,” another Palestinian dead. Less than a month after the deadly clashes outside the Palestinian village of Tel in which two Israelis and four Palestinians were killed, settlers embarked on a similar unauthorized hike last Friday — this time near the village Sa’ir, north of Hebron in the occupied West Bank.
According to Palestinian accounts, local residents came out to defend their homes upon seeing the settlers enter the area. The Israeli military said Palestinians threw stones at the group, after which the civilian security coordinator of the nearby settlement of Metzad was called to the scene. He opened fire, killing 17-year-old Karim Sanad Shalaldeh and seriously wounding another Palestinian.
The incident closely echoed what had happened on July 24 on the outskirts of the village of Tel, west of Nablus. There, too, a “hiking trip” by Israeli settlers through the outskirts of a Palestinian village ended with Palestinian residents being shot dead by armed Israelis, while an Israeli settler and a soldier were also killed.
A few days before that deadly incident, an invitation to a hiking trip in the “Havat Gilad area” — the name of the Israeli settlement closest to Tel — was posted on the Telegram channel of the “David and Ahikam Hikers” group. “For You, O Lord, have kindled it with fire, and with fire You will rebuild it,” read the heading of the post, screenshots of which were shared on X by Kan reporter Haim Goldich
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Through these hiking trips, the organizers seek to expand Jewish presence in the West Bank beyond the boundaries of the settlements themselves. “Most settlers are familiar with the fences and roads,” explained the group’s founder, David Sayyed, in the same interview. “But the space itself can be seen beyond the mountains of darkness, and for David and Ahikam it was simple — we live here, this is ours, and we need to get to know it.”
According to Sayyed, the trips are intended not only to change civilians’ travel habits but also to force a change in the way the army operates. “Our approach was to coordinate and notify the army to make it easier for them to provide security,” he said, “but under no circumstances do we ask for permission.” According to him, as a result of these activities, “the army understands that it needs to secure certain areas, and families can get there on their own.”