Residents of a Palestinian village in the occupied West Bank have accused Israeli settlers of launching a violent attack that left homes burned and several people injured.
Barhan Omar, a Palestinian bank manager, said settlers targeted his family’s home in Deir al-Hatab on Sunday. According to him, the attackers fired shots and set the property on fire while his family was inside.
“This assault wasn’t just meant to burn the houses but also to kill — to kill women and children,” Omar said while standing in the charred remains of his home. “They came in big numbers. This was organised terrorism.”
Omar said he and his children managed to escape by hiding on the roof of the building as the attack unfolded.
The village, located near Nablus, had not previously experienced such a large-scale attack, residents said.
Witnesses reported that at least 10 people were injured during the violence, mostly by stones thrown by attackers, while one man suffered a gunshot wound to the foot.
The attack followed the funeral of Yehuda Sherman, an 18-year-old Israeli who was killed near the nearby settlement of Elon Moreh.
Sherman reportedly died after his all-terrain vehicle was struck by a pickup truck driven by a Palestinian near the outpost where he lived. While Israeli settlers believe the incident was a deliberate attack, Palestinians insist it was an accident.
Tensions in the West Bank have intensified in recent days, with a surge in reported settler violence. According to the United Nations, at least six Palestinians have been killed by settlers since the start of the ongoing regional conflict involving Iran.
In another recent incident, residents of Khirbet Humsa accused settlers of sexually assaulting a man and beating others while ordering them to leave their land. Israeli police later confirmed that seven people were arrested in connection with the case.
Rights groups say the violence reflects a broader trend that intensified during the war in Gaza following the Hamas-led attacks on Israel in October 2023.
According to the Israeli human rights organisation B’Tselem, settlement expansion and violence have accelerated in recent years.
“They have seen the last three years as an opportunity,” said B’Tselem spokesperson Yair Dvir. “What we’re seeing now on the ground is a continuation of the ethnic cleansing campaign by Israel.”
However, Israel strongly rejects accusations that its actions amount to ethnic cleansing of Palestinians.
The United Nations Human Rights Office has previously warned that forced displacement of Palestinian communities raises serious concerns under international law.
Meanwhile, the international community continues to regard Israeli settlements in the West Bank as illegal under international law, although Israel disputes that interpretation.
