Palestinian village in the West Bank attacked by Israeli settlers

Armed settlers attacked the Palestinian village of Khillet al-Dabaa in Masafer Yatta, south of Hebron, leaving men, women, children, and the elderly suffering with injuries, as reported by The New Arab on September 5th.

Groups wielding sticks and knives entered on September 5th, stabbing and beating locals, according to Hassan Mleihat, the Al-Baidar Organisation for the Defence of Bedouin Rights’ general coordinator. 70-year-old Ali al-Dabbabseh as well as his wife Amina were hit on the head; their son Abbas al-Dabbabseh was also stabbed, while his wife suffered fractures and bruising. The couple’s three-month-old daughter was also bruised, and their other children were wounded. Other villagers, including Hani al-Dabbabseh and Basel Amer, also suffered injuries.

Al-Baydar said the attacks was part of a broader campaign by settlers to “terrorise Palestinians out of their land,” which has occurred under the protection of Israeli forces.

Violence also spread to the north of the West Bank. At around 2 a.m. on September 5th settler groups vandalised the Pine Tree Nursery between Yetma and Qabalan, uprooting trees and damaging equipment. In Khirbet Yanun near Aqraba, Israeli forces stormed the village—including its mosque—using military vehicles, in what residents characterised as pressure on isolated communities to leave. Further raids across the West Bank saw numerous arrests: three individuals in al-Mughayyir, over 15 in Haris (west of Salfit), while another person in Qalqilya was arrested.

This violence unfolds amid renewed tensions over Israeli annexation plans. On September 3rd, the UAE—one of the Arab states that normalised ties with Israel under the Abraham Accords—warned that the annexation of West Bank territory would constitute a “red line.”

Meanwhile, far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, has continued advocating for annexation, dismissing Palestinian statehood aspirations.

This wave of aggression unfolds amid intensified diplomatic concerns over settlement expansion. The office of Smotrich said that Israel’s revival of the E1 settlement project would “bury” the prospect of a Palestinians state. UN spokesperson Stephane Dujarric cautioned that the project would violate international law and “further entrench the occupation.”

On June 25th, over 100 settlers stormed the West Bank town of Kfar Malik, setting property on fire and shooting at Palestinians who tried to intervene.