Palestinians, settler said wounded in clash near Bethlehem; Palestinians reported arrested

Israeli forces have arrested at least two Palestinians near Bethlehem in the West Bank, after a clash with settlers that left a settler and two Palestinians wounded, according to settlers and Palestinian media.

There are no reports of any settlers being arrested. The IDF has not immediately responded to a request for comment.

WAFA, the Palestinian Authority’s official news agency, says in a 1:30 p.m. report that two Palestinians were wounded by settler gunfire in the village of Arab al-Rashayida. They were reportedly taken to a hospital with gunshot wounds to the hand and leg, respectively. Israeli forces later reportedly came to the village to arrest two other Palestinians, aged 21 and 22, respectively.

Extremist settler activist Elisha Yered later praises the IDF for arresting three Palestinians whom he accuses of having assaulted a Jewish shepherd around 1 p.m. Yered posts a picture of the shepherd’s bloodied hand and says he was hospitalized with bruises to his stomach and hands following an assault by “dozens of rioters from Rashayida” close to the nearby ultra-Orthodox settlement of Ma’ale Amos. Yered posts a picture of the shepherd’s bloodied hand.

תחילתו של שינוי בגזרה? לפני זמן קצר עצרו לוחמי צה"ל שלושה מהתוקפים של רועה הצאן – ביניהם הפורע שהוביל את האירוע.

כעת נותר לוודא שמשטרת עציון תיקח את העצורים לידיה ותטפל בהם במלוא חומרת הדין. עם אירועי טרור חמורים כמו שראינו בשבועות האחרונים נגמרה האופציה לעוד "דלת מסתובבת". https://t.co/0EIGcBAK1A pic.twitter.com/YisDDGxz5k

— אלישע ירד (@ElishaYered) January 6, 2026

In footage published by Palestinian media at roughly the time Yered says the attack took place, settlers appear to be throwing stones at a group of Palestinians near a road outside Rashayida. Footage from the same area published by Yered roughly an hour later shows an IDF soldier in full gear marching a Palestinian who is bound and blindfolded.

#شاهد| إصابات واعتقالات في "عرب الرشايدة" شرق بيت لحم، جراء اقتحام وحشي نفذه مستوطنون. pic.twitter.com/ewkbo8D2Xo

— شبكة فلسطين للحوار (@paldf) January 6, 2026