Activists say settlers ‘kidnapped’ foreign activist during raid of Palestinian village

Settlers have kidnapped a foreign activist during a raid on the Palestinian village of Umm al-Khair in the southern West Bank, activists say.

The kidnapped activist, who is identified as British man Finn Joughlin, was in the village to try to protect the locals amid repeated settler attacks. The volunteer activity is known as protective presence, and has become increasingly common throughout the West Bank, where settler violence takes place on a near-daily basis with almost complete impunity.

Nadav Weiman, from the left-wing Breaking the Silence group, says that the kidnapped foreign activist has not been heard from since he was filmed being pulled to a nearby Israeli illegal outpost by settlers over an hour ago.

“Children of settlers from the outpost stole a ball from Palestinian children [in Umm al-Khair] and then called armed adults [to the scene], and they kidnapped the activist,” Weiman writes.

“Note the settler children in the video. This is how their parents raise them,” he adds.

לפני זמן קצר מתנחלים חטפו פעיל נוכחות מגינה בינלאומי מהכפר הפלסטיני אום אל ח׳יר הוא נלקח למאחז הסמוך וכרגע לא יודעים איפה הוא נמצא

ילדי מתנחלים מהמאחז גנבו כדור של ילדים פלסטינים ואז קראו למבוגרים חמושים שחטפו את הפעיל

*שימו לב לילדי המתנחלים בסרטון ככה ההורים שלהם מחנכים אותם pic.twitter.com/swlcBcIksi

— נדב וימן Nadav Weiman (@weimanadav) August 29, 2026

Responding to the footage shared by Weiman, Democrats MK Gilad Kariv calls on the IDF to rescue the kidnapped activist.

“After you locate him, arrest the kidnappers,” he says.

“Anarchy and violence are rampant in the area under your direct responsibility. These images are further evidence of the complete collapse of the rule of law in the territories,” Kariv adds.