Settlers accused of attacking Palestinians, torching buildings in West Bank village
Two people lightly injured by gunfire from Israeli assailants, local resident says, after latest in spate of fiery rampages; no arrests reported
Israeli settlers rampaged through a Palestinian town in the northern West Bank overnight, setting fires and attacking residents, a security source said Thursday, amid what Palestinians say is a campaign of intimidation to push them off their land.
Two residents of Bardala were lightly injured by gunfire from the attackers, a local resident told The Times of Israel. No arrests were reported and there was no official comment from Israeli authorities.
According to the security source, who spoke to The Times of Israel on condition of anonymity, settlers from a nearby illegal outpost entered the Palestinian village at around 10 p.m. Wednesday night and proceeded to assault residents, set structures on fire, and open fire on Palestinians.
Israel Defense Forces troops eventually arrived on the scene, opening fire to disperse the attackers as well as Palestinians trying to defend their property.
Resident Mahyoub Foqahaa said two young men from the village were hospitalized with injuries to their feet as a result of gunfire from the settlers.
Footage from the attack shared on social media showed several buildings in the town ablaze.
Reports in Palestinian media claimed Israeli troops blocked fire trucks and ambulances from reaching the scene, despite unseasonably hot and dry conditions in the area which fueled massive wildfires in the Jerusalem area Wednesday and Thursday.
The Jordan Valley village is located less than two kilometers (1.2 miles) from the Green Line which marks the border between the West Bank and sovereign Israel.
Foqahaa said Israeli authorities briefly detained a number of Palestinians during the melee.
The Israel Defense Forces and Israel Police did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
The reported assault marked the latest in a series of suspected arson attacks on Palestinian property by Israeli settlers in the West Bank.
On Tuesday, a Palestinian man died after his home was set ablaze as part of a violent settler attack in the village of Sinjil, close to Ramallah, an eyewitness told The Times of Israel. The 47-year-old reportedly suffered from a heart attack following beatings by soldiers, tear gas, and smoke inhalation.
مستوطنون يحرقون أراضي ومنازل في قرية بردلا بالأغوار الشمالية بالضفة الغربية pic.twitter.com/gUmjJLSnv1
— شبكة قدس الإخبارية (@qudsn) April 23, 2025
During the same incident, settlers also set fire to the property and home of a Bedouin family living on the outskirts of Sinjil. According to the Palestinians, one of the family members was injured in settler beatings.
There was no response to the incident from the IDF.
Earlier in April, Palestinians accused Israeli settlers of setting fire to a wedding hall and spraying graffiti in the central West Bank village of Bidya.
Footage showed flames engulfing the building, while graffiti sprayed on nearby walls read “Revenge,” “Death to Arabs,” and “Fight the enemy, not the friend.” No injuries were reported.
Palestinian residents frequently say such attacks are part of an effort by extremist settlers to intimidate them into fleeing their land.
Law enforcement and military responses to settler violence have faced mounting scrutiny amid concerns that members of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s right-wing cabinet are unwilling to tackle extremist attacks on Palestinians.
In January, the Israel Police came under fire in the High Court over its failure to curb such incidents.
During a hearing, the court reviewed a petition by residents of the Palestinian village of Khirbet Zanuta, who have accused the IDF, the Israel Police, and the Defense Ministry of contempt of court for failing to fulfill court orders to protect them from violence.
In the request, the village’s lawyers provided photos of settlers from the nearby illegal settlement outpost of Meitarim Farm filming villagers inside their homes and harassing their livestock.
According to Ynet, then-Acting Supreme Court President Isaac Amit, now the permanent head of the judiciary, slammed the lack of accountability during the hearing, saying: “Not a single indictment had been filed. We see settlers inside their homes. Nothing has been done.”
Police officials have pushed back against the criticism.
Chief Inspector Aviad Balmas, head investigator at the Hebron station, claimed during the January hearing: “We send a car to every incident. The area is huge. We investigate and summon people for questioning. The fact that there are complaints does not mean all of them happened.”
The Times of Israel Community.