Inside a Palestinian village under weekly attack

Violence has become a grim weekend ritual in one occupied West Bank village, where a family compound came under attack by teenage Israeli settlers and, days later, a 17-year-old Palestinian shot during the unrest died from his injuries.

The assault unfolded at the Abu Alia family home in al-Mughayyir, where a large metal gate became the only barrier between frightened residents and a group of settlers repeatedly smashing it with clubs. Insults flew in both Hebrew and Arabic as family members filmed the confrontation from inside the compound, while a woman could be heard screaming for the attackers to leave.

As the chaos erupted, Israeli soldiers and border police moved through the village streets. Residents fled their vehicles, young men rolled rocks onto roads, and gunfire echoed across the area. The local mosque urged villagers to come to the family's aid, but reaching them meant risking confrontation with Israeli forces during an increasingly dangerous military operation.

For residents, scenes like these have become a familiar part of life. During a week spent in al-Mughayyir and neighbouring Khirbet Abu Falah, repeated settler attacks and growing Israeli control over surrounding land painted a picture of a rapidly changing landscape.

Footage appeared to show Israeli soldiers making no attempt detain the settlers who attacked the Abu Alia compound or confiscate their clubs

Israel has occupied the West Bank since the 1967 Middle East war and has built more than 100 settlements housing more than half a million Jews. Hundreds of additional wildcat outposts have also appeared, often beginning with a single caravan or tent close to Palestinian communities. Both settlements and outposts are considered illegal under international law.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has described those responsible for settler violence as only a small number of "juvenile delinquents" and teenagers from "broken homes". Yet on the day of the Abu Alia attack, a settler group had circulated a social media message calling on supporters to "expel the enemy", alongside a quotation from the Torah.

Although many of those battering the family gate appeared to be teenagers, older settlers, including at least one armed man, stood nearby alongside Israeli soldiers. Video filmed by the Abu Alia family appeared to show soldiers gently moving the youths away before they returned to continue striking the gate. The footage also appeared to show settlers damaging fencing while soldiers stood nearby without intervening.

Images from the scene also appeared to show an angle-grinder lying behind soldiers before later being seen in the hands of both soldiers and settlers near the damaged fencing. Asked about the incidents, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) gave no explanation but said it was investigating allegations of property damage.

Family member Rafeeq Abu Alia said armed settlers had first arrived in small numbers before reinforcements appeared and surrounded the property. He claimed soldiers entered the house alongside settlers and alleged people inside were beaten.

Journalists witnessed soldiers attempting to force open the family's gate while settlers stood nearby. Later, workers were seen repairing the damaged entrance.

Rafeeq Abu Alia said the attack on his family's home followed a familiar pattern

Local medics said they treated several Palestinians suffering tear gas exposure and injuries caused by beatings, while another casualty was taken to hospital with a gunshot wound. The IDF said its forces had responded to reports of clashes between Palestinians and Israeli civilians and entered a house searching for suspects accused of throwing stones.

The military said one person involved in what it described as a "violent riot" had been detained and that allegations of violence by soldiers were under investigation. It also said masked Palestinians had attacked troops with slings and that soldiers fired to remove the threat, adding that "a hit was identified".

Following the Hamas-led attacks on Israel on 7 October 2023, Israeli forces were granted expanded authority to use live ammunition against Palestinians throwing stones in the West Bank.

Reporting from the area has become increasingly difficult. While filming near the Abu Alia compound, journalists said Israeli soldiers pointed weapons towards them and later aimed a tear-gas launcher in their direction, ordering them to stop filming before no shot was fired.

Palestinian paramedics also described repeated restrictions. One ambulance worker with the Palestinian Red Crescent said soldiers confiscated his ambulance keys while he was responding to another settler attack, forcing him to wait despite the emergency.

'The army is the settlers, but their clothes are green,' says village councillor Abu Waheed

Village council member Abu Waheed claimed settlers entered al-Mughayyir daily and alleged soldiers acted on settlers' instructions. He described the army and settlers as effectively working together, allegations the Israeli authorities have consistently rejected.

Many Israeli soldiers serving in the West Bank are themselves settlers, while thousands of settlers were recruited into local security squads after the October 2023 attacks and issued weapons. Army figures say most of those squads have since been disbanded following reports of abuse against Palestinians.

One nearby settler, Adar Lafair, told an Israeli documentary team that residents were carrying out a "conquest" by settling areas previously controlled by Palestinians. His wife Rivka said she hoped security squads would one day be allowed to "conquer" a nearby Palestinian village and described teenage settlers establishing control over land before the army followed.

A former Israeli soldier who recently served in the West Bank, speaking anonymously, said extremist settlers sometimes regarded soldiers who restrained them as enemies. He claimed organised groups provided young settlers with ideology, food, water, logistics and guidance, rejecting suggestions that attacks were simply spontaneous actions by isolated teenagers.

The United Nations recorded 45 Palestinians injured by Israeli settlers across the West Bank during the week reporters were in the area, including 12 children. It says injuries linked to settler attacks have risen to more than three per day on average this year.

Peace Now, an Israeli organisation monitoring settlements, says at least 231 new outposts have been established under the current Israeli government. It estimates settler farming outposts now effectively control 18% of the West Bank and have displaced more than 100 Palestinian communities.

The organisation also says the government has allocated 19 billion shekels to settlement expansion and is seeking another 600 million shekels for settlement programmes. Meanwhile, construction continues across numerous settlements, including projects around Jenin and new military sites.

Peace Now's Hagit Ofran argues the expansion reflects a wider drive to increase settlements before Israeli elections expected in October. She also says state funding is increasingly reaching outposts that had previously been illegal even under Israeli law.

In neighbouring Khirbet Abu Falah, olive farmer Brahim Hamayel said four new outposts had appeared near his village within a year, with attacks now reaching homes instead of remaining confined to farmland. He said residents had erected barbed wire around their properties as protection after houses and vehicles were attacked.

During one visit, smoke rose from nearby fields as settlers moved across burning land. An Israeli army vehicle arrived but did not prevent a second fire before driving back towards one of the nearby outposts.

Just one week after the confrontation at the Abu Alia compound, tragedy deepened. Seventeen-year-old Fadi Hamdallah al-Nassan, a player for the Palestinian national youth football team, died after being shot in the leg during the violence and was buried in his village.

The following day, two more Palestinians were killed in another nearby settler attack. For many residents, another weekend had ended with more roads closed, more land contested, more families grieving and no sign that the violence was easing.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/clyxgn37lg5o