CCTV footage shows soldiers accompanying settlers who reportedly stole livestock from Palestinians

Security camera footage from Tuesday night published by left-wing Israeli activists shows soldiers accompanying settlers who reportedly stole 150 head of livestock from the Palestinian hamlet of Khirbet al-Halawa, in the enclave of Masafer Yatta in the southern West Bank.

The footage shows settlers walking some of the livestock, followed by at least six armed soldiers in uniform. The soldiers are not wearing tactical vests or helmets, as troops typically do when operating in the West Bank.

Settlers and soldiers steal a flock of sheep from the village of Halawe: during the brutal assault the day before yesterday on the villages of Masafer Yatta, the militias were recorded by security cameras stealing the sheep. . pic.twitter.com/xUyJh0dueD

— מחוץ לעדר/ kivsa shchora (@masafering) January 29, 2026

Two Palestinian women can be seen following the soldiers. According to the Israeli activists, the women are from the families whose livestock was stolen. The activists claim that the women were detained by Israel for a day, bound, blindfolded and denied food.

In a statement earlier today, the IDF claimed that troops came to Khirbet al-Halawa after being alerted to the theft of livestock from a Jewish shepherd by Palestinians. The statement added that a Palestinian woman was arrested for allegedly assaulting an officer.

A screenshot of the statement, shared by Channel 13 legal correspondent Yossi Eli, shows the IDF adding off-the-record that it was investigating claims that soldiers stood idly by while sheep were being stolen.

The off-the-record section does not specify who the sheep were thought to have been stolen by, but the rest of the statement indicates that soldiers did in fact respond to the alleged theft of livestock by Palestinians.

The IDF does not respond to a request for comment on the new footage, including on why troops were not in full combat gear while operating in the West Bank, and why the army claimed publicly that livestock was stolen by Palestinians but alluded only off the record to the possibility that livestock was stolen by settlers.