Israeli settlers raided two Palestinian villages in the southern West Bank on Monday following the Israeli army’s evacuation of a settler outpost in the region.
First, dozens of settlers attacked the village of Umm al-Butm, near the cleared outpost of Zur Misgavi, and set a building and vehicles on fire. They assaulted Palestinian women in their homes, including one 66-year-old who was evacuated for treatment.
Several hours later, settlers set fire to three homes, three vehicles and a caravan in Jab’a, a village southwest of Bethlehem.
Israeli settlers raiding the West Bank town of Jab’a, southwest of Bethlehem, Monday.
“A disaster, a disaster has happened here – and all in front of the soldiers and police,” an Umm al-Butm resident told Haaretz. “The settlers break, beat, burn, and they do nothing.”
The head of Jab’a village’s council told Wafa, the Palestinian news agency, that no residents were wounded in the raid, but the homes set on fire were damaged.
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After the attack on Jab’a, the IDF said that security forces arrived on the scene and are searching to find the individuals involved in the raid.
Hours after the attack in Umm al-Butm, the IDF issued a statement saying that its forces arrived “following a report received of several Palestinian vehicles that were set on fire in the area, and of stone-throwing between Israeli civilians and Palestinians at the site.” The army added that two Palestinians were taken to receive medical treatment.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu condemned the attacks, saying he views the “violent riots and the attempt by a small extremist group to take the law into their own hands very seriously,” while stressing that the assailants do not “represent the settlers in Judea and Samaria.”
He called on law enforcement authorities to “bring the perpetrators to full justice.”
Defense Minister Israel Katz said he supports the military forces currently operating in the area. “The government, led by Prime Minister Netanyahu, will continue to develop and expand settlements throughout Judea and Samaria, together with settlement leadership, while upholding the law, ensuring residents’ security, and maintaining regional stability,” Katz said. “There will be no leniency toward anyone who acts violently.”
During clashes with Israeli security forces following the demolition of Zur Misgavi, six Israeli citizens were arrested and several officers were wounded.
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The protesters barricaded themselves in the outpost, threw rocks and metal rods at forces, and burned vehicles and tires, as the military and police attempted to remove them.
The village of Umm al-Butm is located at the foot of the Zur Misgavi outpost, home to around 25 families, according to settlers, as well as near several other outposts – most of which were established during the war.
In recent months, attacks on the village have intensified, and in October, Haaretz reported that dozens of olive trees owned by residents were cut down just before the start of the harvest season. At the time, residents told Haaretz that they were repeatedly attacked by masked assailants coming from the outposts on the hill above.
Footage from the village after the attack shows settlers watching from the ridge as smoke rises above the village, while IDF forces move among the village houses. In one clip, security forces are seen blocking access to the village, with several settlers standing nearby watching calmly.
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Israeli settlers descending on the West Bank village of Umm al-Butm Credit: Use under Section 27A of the Copyright Law
Israeli settlers descending on the West Bank village of Umm al-Butm Credit: Use under Section 27A of the Copyright Law
In a statement issued this morning, the Civil Administration said that in the outpost that was evacuated, “criminal actions and serious cases of violence occurred that affected the security of the area.”
Since 2023, the authority to enforce illegal construction by Israelis in the West Bank has been transferred to the Settlement Administration, which operates under the authority of Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich. The IDF may evacuate an outpost only if it is proven to pose a clear security risk.
Contrary to the Civil Administration’s statement, right-wing activists claimed throughout the day that the evacuation was intended to preserve land reserves for settlement expansion.
MK Limor Son Har-Melech from far-right Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir’s Otzma Yehudit party, criticized the decision to evacuate the outpost and called for the evacuation to be stopped. Joining her call were Daniella Weiss, the so-called Mother of Settlements, and far-right activist Elisha Yered.
“The public is urged to come urgently to prevent the destruction of dozens of homes,” Weiss wrote in a message she circulated. “The wild attack on the hilltop youth was a psychological prelude meant to prepare the ground for harming settlement points.”