Palestinian media reported several settler attacks on Palestinians in the West Bank on Saturday, hours after the IDF and police announced investigations into violent incidents involving settlers and soldiers in the territory a day earlier, including reports that troops stood by during attacks on Palestinians and property or, in some cases, participated.
The Red Crescent said Saturday night that one Palestinian was injured after being assaulted by settlers in the village of Kafin in the Tulkarem area of the western West Bank.
Palestinian media outlets also reported that a woman was injured after being assaulted by settlers in the Wadi Sa’ir area north of Hebron.
And in a separate incident, Palestinian media published footage of a confrontation between settlers and Palestinians in the South Hebron Hills area of the southern West Bank, in which two settlers could be seen physically fighting with several Palestinians.
Hours earlier, the army said it was probing the conduct of soldiers in several incidents, while police announced investigations into suspected crimes by settlers.
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The spate of incidents, all of which took place in the central or northern West Bank over the past two days, came amid heightened tensions and ongoing military operations in the territory and near-daily incidents of settler attacks on Palestinians.
مشهد يوثق هجوم مسـ.’ـتوطنين على الأهالي في منطقة “شعب البطم” بمسافر يطا جنوب الخليل. pic.twitter.com/lVXa3LEFf9
— فلسطين بوست (@PalpostN) May 16, 2026
In one of the most serious incidents, the IDF said Saturday it was investigating soldiers who stood by as several masked Israeli settlers, including a reservist, set fire to vehicles in the Palestinian village of Shuqba near Ramallah on Friday.
According to the military, troops were dispatched to the village following reports that several masked Israelis vandalized and set fire to vehicles.
“When the troops arrived, some of the Israeli civilians tried to flee the area while others continued to vandalize the vehicles,” the IDF said in response to a query.
A military source confirmed that the troops did not detain any of the assailants as they were carrying out the attack.
חייל הגמ”ר ו-4 אזרחים ישראלים נעצרו בחשד שהציתו רכבים פלסטיניים; כוח צה”ל היה עד לאירוע, תיעד – אך לא עצר אותם@Doron_Kadosh pic.twitter.com/gLkp5rfRsS
— גלצ (@GLZRadio) May 16, 2026
Later, Border Police officers arrested four Israeli civilians and a reservist serving in one of the IDF’s so-called area defense forces, known by its Hebrew acronym “Hagmar,” who were suspected of participating in the attack. Police announced earlier that they had launched an investigation into the incident.
The reservist’s weapon was confiscated, and he was suspended from reserve duty amid the investigation.
The military said it will investigate the conduct of the troops who stood by during the attack.
Dozens of soldiers from Hagmar units, which comprise local settlers serving in reserve duty, have been dismissed for violations, including attacks on Palestinians, in recent years.
In recent days, the IDF has been reducing the number of active Hagmar soldiers in the West Bank.
Reservist filmed dragging bound detainee
Another incident under investigation Saturday involved footage appearing to show a reservist dragging a bound and blindfolded Palestinian detainee in a central West Bank village.
Responding to the video, which showed a partially uniformed Israeli standing over the man before dragging him to a nearby road, the army said the individual was “a soldier on active reserve duty” who acted “in an inappropriate manner that deviated from the rules.”
“The incident and the behavior of the forces are being investigated,” said an IDF statement.
The army said the Palestinian attacked an Israeli before being detained and that the soldier was instructed by troops dispersing a group of Palestinians to watch over him.
HORRIFIC: An armed Israeli settler, under the protection of the Israeli army, blindfolded, humiliated, and detained a Palestinian man in the village of Bayt Iksa in the West Bank. pic.twitter.com/ya3FdCRTMS
— Ihab Hassan (@IhabHassane) May 15, 2026
Settler attacks have been taking place on a daily basis, with little enforcement by Israeli authorities.
Critics accuse the government of turning a blind eye to the violent attacks by settler extremists, which have become increasingly deadly in recent years. The military recorded 867 incidents of nationalistic crime and settler violence in 2025, compared to 682 incidents in 2024.
The IDF has also faced criticism for often standing by while attacks unfold — with troops sometimes actively participating — or failing to prosecute those responsible.
Palestinian killed near Jenin
Meanwhile on Saturday, Palestinian Authority health officials said Israeli forces killed a man on the outskirts of the Jenin refugee camp in the northern West Bank.
The IDF later confirmed opening fire on a Palestinian suspect near Jenin, and in response to a query, told The Times of Israel that troops stationed in the Jenin camp identified a suspect who tried to enter the area without coordination.
Palestinians inspect a house after it was demolished by Israeli authorities in the village of Al-Zawiya, south of Jenin in the West Bank, March 25, 2026. (Nasser Ishtayeh/Flash90)
A military source said that there were intelligence indications that the suspect sought to target Israeli forces in the camp.
“The troops began a suspect arrest procedure that included firing into the air, and after the suspect did not stop and continued toward the camp, the forces shot at him, resulting in his injury,” the military said.
The IDF said troops provided the suspect with medical attention before transferring him to the Palestinian Red Crescent which said its teams in Jenin received a man “with no signs of breathing or pulse from inside Jenin camp after he sustained a live bullet wound to the thigh.”
The man, identified by the Palestinian Authority’s health ministry as 34-year-old Nour al-Din Kamal Hassan Fayyad, later succumbed to his wounds. It said he was “killed by occupation forces’ fire in the Jenin camp.”
Israel launched a major military operation in early 2025 in multiple northern Palestinian refugee camps, where the army has said it is seeking to root out terror groups.
The operation, dubbed “Iron Wall,” has targeted Jenin and Tulkarem camps and displaced nearly 40,000 Palestinians, according to the UN agency for Palestinian refugees, UNRWA.
The Jenin camp has been sealed off by the IDF since early 2025 amid a counter-terrorism operation.
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