Three times in a week: Israeli settler raids into West Bank village end with IDF shooting Palestinians

Matan Golan reports in Haaretz on 4 September 2026:

In the West Bank village of al-Mughayyir, a familiar pattern is playing out with increasing frequency: Settlers enter the Palestinian village under army protection, clashes erupt and Israeli soldiers open fire on Palestinians.

Three such incidents have occurred in the past week alone. At least seven Palestinians were shot by Israeli soldiers, two of them fatally, while others were physically assaulted by settlers during incursions into the village.

The incidents follow a similar sequence. Settlers approach the western homes of the village with their flocks in the presence of soldiers, complain to the army that their sheep have been lost, stolen or poisoned, and then move between Palestinian homes under the protection of the security forces. Clashes subsequently break out between the settlers and residents, with Israeli troops ultimately firing at Palestinians.

The pattern is not new, but, as this week has shown, it is becoming increasingly frequent.

For several months, Israeli soldiers have been blocking the village’s sole western entrance for many hours each day. In practice, settlers enter the village’s lands in full view of the military and provoke confrontations with residents, while Israeli troops turn their weapons on the villagers.

In several incidents, residents reported that as the military pushed deeper into the center of the village, settlers stole equipment and livestock from pens on its outskirts.

On Wednesday, two teenagers from the village were shot dead by soldiers after settlers entered the area with a flock of sheep. One was shot in the neck and the other in the back.

Video footage shows settlers grazing sheep among homes on the village’s outskirts and approaching houses in the presence of IDF and Border Police forces, who did not intervene to remove them.  In one video, Border Police officers are seen searching a Palestinian woman in the yard of her home as young settlers shout in Arabic, “Oskot!” – “Shut up!” or “Be quiet!”  The officers then escorted the woman into her home. Village residents said the settlers stole about 100 head of livestock.

Settlers on social media initially claimed that the incident involved livestock being poisoned “in the grazing areas” of a “farm.”

Later, they claimed that livestock had been stolen from two different outposts – Havat Metzudat David and Givat Or Nahman – and that Israeli soldiers had begun searching for the herd. Givat Or Nahman is an outpost established in Area B in 2024 on a hill west of al-Mughayyir.

The Palestinian Authority has full civilian control over Area B, while Israel is responsible for security in coordination with the Palestinian Authority. In practice, the Palestinian police handle policing between Palestinians, while Israeli forces intervene when Israelis are involved. Area B is supposed to be exclusively Palestinian, with no Jewish settlement. Israelis are discouraged – but not officially banned – from entering the area.

The village is now surrounded on all sides by at least seven outposts, three of them in Area B. The only access road into the village runs between the outposts in Area B, and Palestinian vehicles traveling along it are frequently attacked by settlers.

At the same time, since the beginning of the war in October 2023, residents have been barred from accessing their lands because of security restrictions and the activities of the surrounding outposts.

Settlers claim that the land around al-Mughayyir is used for grazing. However, even though the area is classified as Area C, meaning Israel is responsible for all civil and security matters there, the Civil Administration’s website shows no state land there, meaning the land cannot be allocated for Israeli grazing.

Nevertheless, when settlers report that livestock grazing on Palestinian-owned land has been stolen or harmed, Israeli security forces assist them. The same pattern played out last Friday and again on Sunday.

Last Friday, according to the Red Crescent, a Palestinian youth was wounded by gunfire, two others were wounded after being beaten by settlers, and three more were arrested.  The incident began at around 6 P.M., when a settler was filmed leading a flock of sheep toward the outskirts of the village in front of soldiers stationed at the entrance checkpoint.

A few minutes later, residents said he left a goat there. The goat is visible in footage from the scene. Residents expressed concern that it would be used as a pretext for a military raid following a claim that livestock had been stolen.

Settlers were subsequently filmed gathering with soldiers at the checkpoint and forcing a Palestinian vehicle to leave, without any intervention by the forces. The military then began raiding the village after receiving a report that livestock belonging to a nearby settler was missing.

During the search – in which an off-duty IDF soldier pointed a weapon at homes, as he took part while dressed in civilian clothes – the Israeli farm owner, accompanied by security forces, took two goats.

The IDF did not respond to a Haaretz inquiry about the numerous incidents in the village.

According to residents, settlers who remained on the outskirts of the village twice attempted to steal Palestinian livestock while soldiers moved deeper into the village.  Footage from the incident shows a sheep with a torn abdomen and other sheep that residents said had been killed by settlers. Residents also reported that 15 lambs were stolen.

On Sunday, just two days later, four more Palestinians were wounded by IDF gunfire after settlers entered the village.  Settlers claimed that three goats had been poisoned after Palestinians entered the grazing area of a farm east of the village and poisoned a trough. They further claimed that the Palestinians attacked the settlers tending the animals and threw stones at them.

In practice, at around 6:30 P.M., some 20 settlers were filmed at the village’s western entrance alongside soldiers. According to residents, Palestinians came out to expel the settlers. Soldiers were filmed firing their weapons but did not remove the settlers from the area.

At around 7 P.M., settlers were filmed besieging a residential building on the outskirts of the village, accompanied by soldiers. The confrontation continued into the night. Later footage shows settlers taking equipment from the yard of a Palestinian home.

According to residents, the settlers remained next to the village homes for four hours. A military source said that security forces later dispersed the gathering.

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