From the Liveblog of
Thursday, August 20, 2026
Police say fire at West Bank home was due to electrical failure, contradicting Palestinian reports of settler arson attack
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Responding to reports that a home was set ablaze by settlers in the southern West Bank overnight, Israel Police says forensic investigators determined that the fire broke out due to an electrical failure, not deliberate arson.
Palestinian media outlets had reported that Israeli settlers set fire to a home in Khillet al-Farra, in the South Hebron Hills. A video obtained by The Times of Israel shows the homeowner claiming that settlers told her personally to leave the area before throwing an incendiary device through her window and setting fire to the house.
In a statement, police say that arson investigators visited the site this morning and determined that a short circuit was to blame for the fire.
It adds that “no remains of a fire-accelerating substance were found at the scene,” which it says is in contradiction to the reports that the fire was started deliberately by Israeli settlers.
Israel Police are regularly accused of not cracking down on settler violence, and the force’s former West Bank regional chief is currently under criminal investigation for ignoring settler violence in order to curry favor in the eyes of National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir.
مستوطنون يضرمون النيران في منزل مواطن بخربة الفخيت غرب يطا جنوب الخليل pic.twitter.com/P2cQewTMR9
— وكالة سند للأنباء – Snd News Agency (@Snd_pal) August 20, 2026
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