Residents report settlers stole sheep from Palestinian herders in al-Mughayyir

Settler extremists steal dozens of sheep from Palestinian herders in the West Bank village of al-Mughayyir in the central West Bank, residents of the village report.

According to Muhammad Abu Alia, one of the residents, the extremists came from the west, attacked one of his uncles this morning, beat him with clubs, and then made off with some 80 sheep back toward their outpost.

There are several illegal farming settlement outposts close to al-Mughayyir and it is not immediately clear which one the settlers came from.

Abu Alia says that some 80 sheep were stolen, although the official Palestinian news agency WAFA put the number at 150.

Police and IDF forces came to the site of the attack, but Abu Alia says they did not prevent the theft of the sheep, and that IDF forces fired tear gas at the villagers as the settlers were attacking.

An hour later, a second attempt was made by the settlers to steal more sheep from the center of al-Mughayyir. Abu Alia says that during the second incident, police and military vehicles were accompanied by two settlers who claimed that the sheep in the village belonged to them.

The second attempt to remove the sheep from al-Mughayyir was prevented by villagers who gathered to stop the extremists making off with more of their livestock, Abu Alia says.

Footage published by Palestinian media of sheep in the streets of al-Mughayyir is from this second incident, Abu Alia says, adding that the 80 sheep stolen in the first incident have not been recovered.

The IDF says in response to a query from The Times of Israel that “there was a gathering between Palestinians and settlers in the area. An IDF force was dispatched to disperse the gathering, and it was dispersed.” The IDF adds that it is not aware of any livestock theft during the incident.

Nurit Yohanan contributed to this report.