Dozens of settlers attack homes in West Bank village; 3 Palestinians reportedly hurt
IDF says troops dispersed ‘violent confrontation’ in Duma after group of Israelis torched property, assaulted residents; defense sources say 5 suspects were briefly held but escaped
A group of some 50 Israelis on Tuesday attacked homes in the northern West Bank village of Duma, with three Palestinians reportedly injured as the settlers torched property and assaulted residents.
In a statement on the violence, the Israel Defense Forces said it received reports that dozens of Israelis entered Duma and set fire to property.
“Afterward, a violent confrontation developed between Israeli civilians and Palestinians in the area, and the additional report was received regarding several Palestinians who were injured in the incident,” the IDF said.
It said troops and police officers reached the scene and worked to “disperse the violent confrontation.”
“The IDF condemns incidents of this type and will continue to act with determination to maintain security and order in the region,” the military added.
There were no reports of arrests in the incident. Five suspects were briefly caught by police, but defense sources said they managed to escape.
According to Palestinian medics, the wounded Palestinians were taken to a hospital for medical treatment.
???? BREAKING: Dozens of Israeli settlers carried out a pogrom in the village of Duma, near Nablus in the West Bank, setting Palestinian homes and vehicles on fire. Two people were reported injured after their house was set ablaze. pic.twitter.com/ZqOqRjstQE
— Ihab Hassan (@IhabHassane) April 1, 2025
In 2015, Duma was the site of an attack by extremist settler Amiram Ben-Uliel, who firebombed the home of the Dawabsha family. Ali Dawabsha, an 18-month-old baby, was burned alive in the attack, while his parents died of their injuries later in the hospital.
Yair Golan, head of the opposition party The Democrats, later blasted the government over Tuesday’s attack, accusing it of “unleashing violence in the West Bank.”
“The pogrom in Duma is not a glitch — it is the result of a deliberate policy,” Golan charged in a post on X. “The government is empowering rioters and unleashing violence in the West Bank, creating a permanent security emergency to survive politically.”
“The head of the government is a man who is being closed in on by a ring of investigations, a man who has lost his judgment and the public’s trust,” fumed Golan, a former Knesset member and IDF deputy chief of staff. “To stay in office, he is pushing for escalation in Judea and Samaria (the Biblical name for the West Bank) — even at the price of the lives of soldiers and civilians.”
Israel “must not abandon security to a dangerous government that is fueled by fear,” Golan added. “Israel needs leadership that understands security to rehabilitate and bring back security and hope.”
The incident in Duma came days after a group of settlers raided the southern West Bank village of Jinba, where several residents were reported wounded and 22 of them detained. No Israelis were arrested for the attack, which according to the police and military followed reports of violence against Jews.
The West Bank has seen a spike in violence since October 7, 2023, when thousands of Hamas-led terrorists stormed southern Israel to kill some 1,200 people and take 251 hostages, sparking the war in Gaza.
In the West Bank, the military has undertaken large-scale counterterrorism operations that have killed hundreds of people — the vast majority of them combatants, according to the IDF — and displaced tens of thousands.
Arrests of Israelis in incidents of settler violence are extremely rare. The head of the police’s West Bank division is currently under investigation for allegedly refusing to crack down on the phenomenon to curry favor in the eyes of far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir.
Israel’s failure to prosecute near-daily incidents of settler violence led the previous White House and multiple European governments to begin sanctioning violent settlers last year. US President Donald Trump scrapped his predecessor’s sanctions shortly after taking office in January.
Times of Israel staff and agencies contributed to this report.
The Times of Israel Community.