{"id":38516,"date":"2025-11-19T11:44:02","date_gmt":"2025-11-19T11:44:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/38516\/"},"modified":"2025-11-19T11:44:02","modified_gmt":"2025-11-19T11:44:02","slug":"israeli-settlers-torch-homes-and-fields-in-fresh-west-bank-attack","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/38516\/","title":{"rendered":"Israeli settlers torch homes and fields in fresh West Bank attack"},"content":{"rendered":"

Israeli<\/a> settlers set fire to Palestinian<\/a> homes, vehicles and farmland in the latest attack in the occupied<\/a> West Bank on Monday.<\/p>\n

The large-scale evening assault on the town of Jab’a, southwest of Bethlehem, left three homes torched. The properties belonged to Raafat Hilal Mashaaleh, Muhammad Musa Musa and Yusuf Ahmad Musa.<\/p>\n

Mashaaleh told Middle East Eye that the attack began as his brother was helping their sister and her children into a car parked in the family garden.<\/p>\n

A stone was thrown at the vehicle, and when he looked up he saw two men hurling rocks. Moments later, he realised there were around 50 assailants.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur priority at that moment was safety,\u201d he said. \u201cYou need to get out safe, no matter your material losses, and protect lives.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Mashaaleh retreated into his home but sustained injuries across his body, including to his neck and back. He said he heard the car\u2019s windows smashing and that his brother\u2019s young daughter had also been struck.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy brother\u2019s daughter is young\u2026 I thought that if they saw girls in the car, they would back off, but instead the videos prove how vicious they were, as they even attacked the children.\u201d<\/p>\n

He attempted to leave the house but was forced back as stones continued to strike the building.<\/p>\n

Israeli settlers set Palestinian vehicles on fire in the village of al-Jab\u2019a, southwest of Bethlehem. pic.twitter.com\/KooMnfgbN5<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Quds News Network (@QudsNen) November 17, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n

CCTV footage<\/a> captured settlers entering the village, with some seen setting objects alight off-camera. Videos shared online<\/a> show vehicles and homes engulfed in flames as residents tried to extinguish the fires.<\/p>\n

Several vehicles<\/a> were destroyed, including two belonging to brothers Musa and Ibrahim Ahmed Abu Lawha.<\/p>\n

Mashaaleh said the fire spread rapidly once lithium batteries in the cars ignited. He later managed to put out the blaze with the help of neighbours.<\/p>\n

‘I thought that if they saw girls in the car, they would back off, but instead the videos prove how vicious they were, as they even attacked the children’<\/p>\n

–\u00a0Raafat Hilal Mashaaleh, resident of Jab’a<\/p>\n

\u201cI had major losses, not minor ones, but thank God we were aware of the situation and acted just in time,\u201d he said, adding that other residents had suffered even greater financial damage.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere is danger on a daily basis – not just in my home but along our entire street.\u201d<\/p>\n

Dhiab Mashaaleh, head of the village council, told<\/a> local media that significant material damage had been inflicted, though no injuries were reported.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen I rewatch the footage from yesterday\u2019s attack, the scenes were deadly,”\u00a0Mashaaleh said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

“When it ended, it felt like a dream. I can\u2019t fathom that we\u2019re still alive.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Israeli military confirmed the attack and said a search for those involved was under way, though no arrests have been made.<\/p>\n

Mashaaleh said this was the third settler attack on his home and one of dozens the town has endured recently.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are a peaceful people, minding our own business,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe don\u2019t even keep track of the news, to the point where the [settler] ambush took us by surprise because we didn\u2019t have the latest details about the settlements.\u201d<\/p>\n

Fears of another Duma arson attack<\/p>\n

Settler violence has escalated significantly over the past month, prompting concern within Israel from politicians who fear the growing number of attacks could trigger a Palestinian response.<\/p>\n

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu condemned what he called \u201cextremists\u201d carrying out attacks in the occupied territory.<\/p>\n

\u201cI view with utmost seriousness the violent riots and the attempt by a handful of extremists, who do not represent the settlers in the occupied West Bank, to take the law into their own hands.\u201d<\/p>\n

He urged law enforcement authorities to bring those responsible to justice, adding that he \u201cintends to deal with this matter personally\u201d and would convene the relevant ministers as soon as possible to respond to what he described as a \u201cdangerous phenomenon\u201d.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

<\/a> <\/p>\n

How the war in Gaza fuelled a wave of settler violence against West Bank Palestinians<\/p>\n

Read More \u00bb<\/a><\/p>\n

Defence Minister Israel Katz voiced support for the continued expansion of illegal settlements in the West Bank, but insisted there would be \u201cno tolerance for anyone who acts violently\u201d.<\/p>\n

Foreign Minister Gideon Saar also criticised the settlers, saying their actions \u201charm the State of Israel, disgrace Judaism, and cause damage to the settlement project.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThey are not us. They are not the State of Israel,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

According to Israel\u2019s Channel 12 on Monday, the security establishment is attempting to stem the recent spike in settler violence, but \u201cdoes not have enough tools\u201d to do so.<\/p>\n

One security official warned it was \u201conly a matter of time before a family is burned again in their home, as happened in the town of Duma\u201d.<\/p>\n

The remark refers to a settler arson attack in July 2015 targeting the Dawabsheh family, which killed Saad Dawabsheh, his wife Riham and their infant son Ali. Four-year-old Ahmed, the sole survivor<\/a>, suffered burns to 60 percent of his body and spent months in recovery.<\/p>\n

Fears of similar deadly assaults have risen in recent years, as the occupied territory witnesses a sharp surge in settler attacks, particularly since Israel\u2019s war on Gaza began in October 2023.<\/p>\n