Palestinian families displaced again by settler violence, activists say

Dozens of Bedouin Palestinians reportedly attacked by settlers yesterday, have dismantled the compound they moved to, itself a refuge after settler violence pushed them out of their original community in October 2023, activists say.

Footage published by activists shows men from the displaced shepherding community of Wadi al-Seeq loading water tanks and other equipment onto trucks and taking apart the encampment they were living in near the village of Rammun, east of Ramallah in the central West Bank.

קהילת ואדי א-סיק.
גירוש שני תוך שנתיים.
אז איך זה באמת עובד…
המתנחלים מגיעים לקהילה, מסתובבים מציקים פורעים פולשים מציתים בתים ומגבירים לחץ פיזי לא מתון .
הצבא מצידו מגבה מהצד או משתתף והמשטרה מפהקת במקרה הטוב. במקרה ההגיוני פשוט מתעלמת או עוצרת את המותקפים…. וככה עוברים… pic.twitter.com/NH3eEuiuls

— מסתכלים לכיבוש בעיניים (@Mistaclim) February 18, 2026

The village is close to where the community lived before it uprooted itself the first time, days into the war sparked by the Hamas-led onslaught of October 7, 2023, after a group of Israeli soldiers and settlers allegedly beat, burned and sexually assaulted three Wadi al-Seeq residents.

Avishay Mohar, an activist journalist, says on social media that the encampment near Rammun was taken apart this morning, and that the 12 families who lived there left to seek safety “closer to the built-up area” of the village.

Left-wing Israeli group Looking the Occupation in the Eyes, which accompanies Palestinian communities in the area, says the new encampment was located on private Palestinian land that is recognized as such by Israeli authorities. The site is located within Area C, which is under full Israeli security control.

According to the left-wing group, settlers who stormed the compound wielded rifles to beat four men, two of whom were hospitalized. The settlers also stole some 45 head of livestock as well as money and electrical equipment, the activists say.

Citing eyewitnesses, Haaretz reported yesterday that the settlers stormed the compound after one of them tried to bring his sheep to graze there and was blocked by residents.

IDF forces arrived at the scene and stood by for an extended period before employing riot dispersal measures against Palestinians, Haaretz said. No arrests were reported, and the IDF did not respond to requests for comment.