BBC News has reported that Palestinian residents in the West Bank village of al-Mughayyir are facing repeated attacks by Israeli settlers, with one family compound described as a regular flashpoint.
The BBC said it spent a week around al-Mughayyir and nearby Khirbet Abu Falah, documenting confrontations involving settlers, Palestinian residents and Israeli forces. It reported that teenage settlers struck the bolted gate of the Abu Alia family compound with clubs while family members were inside.
Rafeeq Abu Alia, a member of the family, told the BBC the incident followed a familiar pattern. He said armed settlers arrived first, more settlers followed, and the house was surrounded while insults were directed at those inside. He also alleged that soldiers entered the property and beat people inside.
The BBC said footage filmed by the family appeared to show Israeli soldiers near the settlers at the gate without detaining them or taking their clubs. Other footage appeared to show young settlers damaging fencing around the property while soldiers stood nearby. The Israel Defence Forces told the BBC it was investigating claims of damage to property but did not provide an explanation for the events.
The IDF said its forces had been in al-Mughayyir responding to reports of a confrontation between Palestinians and Israeli civilians. It said soldiers entered a house to search for suspects accused of throwing stones and detained one person involved in what it described as a “violent riot”. It also said masked Palestinians had used slings to throw stones at soldiers, and that troops fired to remove the threat, with “a hit” identified.
Medics told the BBC they treated several Palestinians for tear gas and beating injuries, while another person was taken to hospital with a gunshot wound.
Al-Mughayyir is surrounded by areas that remained under full Israeli control during the Oslo peace process, which later collapsed. The BBC reported that Israeli settlement outposts have expanded around the village in recent years. Settlements and outposts in the occupied West Bank are regarded as illegal under international law, while outposts are also officially illegal under Israeli law.
A village council member, known as Abu Waheed, told the BBC that settlers enter al-Mughayyir daily and claimed soldiers act in line with settlers’ wishes. The BBC also cited a former Israeli soldier who said extremist settlers viewed him as hostile when he did not support their actions.
According to the BBC, the UN counted 45 Palestinians injured by Israeli settlers across the West Bank during the week of its reporting, including 12 children. The Israeli organisation Peace Now said at least 231 new settler outposts have been established since Israel’s current government took office in December 2022.
