Palestinians say 2 killed in fresh settler attack in West Bank

Thaer Hama’el, 24, and Fares Hama’el, 57, shot dead amid raid by settlers near Ramallah; IDF says criminal probe launched, indicating suspicion gunfire came from Israeli civilians

The Palestinian Authority health ministry said Sunday that two Palestinians were killed in a settler attack overnight in the West Bank, less than a day after another man was reportedly killed amid a clash with Israeli settlers.

The latest armed attack took place in the Palestinian village of Abu Falah, near Ramallah, the PA reported. The victims were identified as 24-year-old Thaer Hama’el and 57-year-old Fares Hama’el.

WAFA, the Palestinian Authority’s official news agency, reported that a third man, Muhammad Marah, 55, died due to suffocation after being exposed to tear gas fired by Israeli security forces who arrived at the scene.

In a statement, the IDF said troops and Border Police officers entered Abu Falah following reports of “several Israeli citizens who attacked Palestinians around homes in the village.”

The IDF said that the forces dispatched to the scene used riot dispersal means. It did not report using gunfire.

The military said it later received reports that two Palestinians were killed by gunfire in the area, and another man died of suffocation.

A preliminary probe into the incident was conducted by the chief of the Central Command, Maj. Gen. Avi Bluth, alongside police officials, the army said.

The IDF later said that a criminal investigation was launched by the “relevant authorities,” referring to the Israel Police, indicating a suspicion the deadly gunfire came from Israeli civilians rather than the soldiers.

The Military Police did yet immediately launch an investigation into the incident, the IDF told The Times of Israel.

“In recent days, a number of irregular incidents have occurred in which Palestinians and Israeli civilians have been injured. The IDF views these incidents with great seriousness,” the military said in a statement.

“This is an unacceptable event. There is and will be no tolerance for citizens who take the law into their own hands,” Bluth was quoted as saying in the statement.

“These actions are dangerous, do not represent the Jewish people or the State of Israel, distract us from the mission of protecting and thwarting terrorism, and also undermine security and stability in the region,” Bluth added, saying that the IDF was working with other security services “to quickly reach those responsible and bring them to justice.”

Five Palestinians have been reported killed in confrontations with settlers in recent days, four by settlers and one by an IDF reservist, as attacks by Israeli extremists throughout the West Bank continued on a near-daily basis with almost complete impunity.

On Saturday, the PA said Amir Shenaran, 27, was shot dead by a settler in the Palestinian village of Wadi al-Rakhim, in the collection of hamlets known as Masafer Yatta.

But the IDF Military Police said a preliminary investigation had found that the shooter was a reservist soldier who arrived on the scene after being alerted to the confrontations between Palestinians and settlers.

Palestinian media reported that Shenaran’s 33-year-old brother was critically wounded by settler gunfire in the same incident, while their father and uncle, as well as a woman, were reportedly hospitalized after being beaten by the settlers. The Palestinian reports said the brothers were shot while trying to fend off settlers who brought livestock to graze near the brothers’ family home.

Last Monday, the PA said two Palestinian men were shot dead by settlers in the Palestinian village of Qaryut, south of Nablus in the northern West Bank.

Some 50 settler violence incidents since Iran war’s start

Israeli human rights group Yesh Din has reported a spike in already rampant settler violence amid the war in Iran that began on February 28, with some 50 incidents recorded in the first four days of the conflict.

Settler violence had already risen sharply since the Hamas-led onslaught of October 7, 2023, according to the United Nations. Including the weekend deaths, a total of five Palestinians have been killed by settlers this year, and 41 since the October 7 attack, according to WAFA, the official Palestinian Authority news agency.

Data published by the IDF and Shin Bet security agency in January showed a 27 percent rise in settler attacks in 2025 compared to the previous year.

In addition to the overall rise in settler attacks, 2025 also saw an increase in the number of serious incidents that included shootings, arson and other violent crimes, with 128 compared to 83 in 2024 and 54 in 2023, according to the data.

Extremist Jewish attacks, which now occur on a near-daily basis, largely go unchecked. Prosecutions are rare, and convictions are even rarer. Critics have accused the government, the most hard-right in Israel’s history, of shrugging off the attacks.