Settlers assault left-wing activist in West Bank; IDF detains activists instead of attackers
Footage captures two settlers attacking Peace Now director; authorities say they held left-wing activists after receiving report that they were the ones who carried out attack
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A pair of Israeli settlers was filmed assaulting a prominent left-wing activist in the West Bank on Wednesday.
The activist was Lior Amichai, who heads the Peace Now settlement watchdog group. He was leading a tour highlighting Israeli settler expansion and violence in the West Bank for members of the left-wing Democrats party.
The group had stopped at the Ein Samiya spring in the Jordan Valley adjacent to where a Bedouin hamlet used to be located. The community members fled the area after coming under repeated attack by settlers shortly after Hamas’s October 7, 2023, onslaught.
While the spring continued being used by Bedouin communities in the area to feed their livestock, it was taken over during the last year by settlers who renovated it and prevented Palestinian access, according to Peace Now.
After the left-wing activists finished touring the area, they got back on a minibus and tried to depart before several settlers at the scene tried to block them, Amichai told The Times of Israel.
The settlers boarded the bus and demanded the IDs of the passengers. One of the settlers can be heard falsely claiming that the Arab bus driver was not allowed to be at the spring.
אלימות מתנחלים קשה במעיין עין סמיה בשטחים:
ליאור עמיחי, מנכ"ל 'שלום עכשיו' הוכה ונחבל בפניו על ידי מתנחלים במהלך סיור שמקיימת התנועה לפעילים מרכזיים של מפלגת 'הדמוקרטים'.המתנחלים האלימים חסמו גם את משתתפי הסיור ולא אפשרו להם לעזוב את המקום במשך זמן ממושך. משטרת ישראל עודכנה… pic.twitter.com/Y3hvW7snR9
— שלום עכשיו (@PeaceNowIL) May 14, 2026
Amichai said he tried to use his body to distance the settlers from the bus when the pair attacked him. He was treated for a minor head wound at the scene.
Amichai said he called the police, who told him to call the army. Shortly thereafter, soldiers from the Hagmar — a reserve unit made up of local settlers — arrived, and the attacking settlers fled.
With the road now clear, the minibus was able to leave the spring. But it only made it to the nearby Kochav Hashachar junction, where it was stopped at a checkpoint set up by IDF soldiers who told the passengers that they were being detained after the settlers alleged that the left-wing activists were the ones who attacked them, Amichai said.
An hour later, police arrived at the scene and an officer took down the information of those on the minibus before releasing them on their way.
Amichai said he filed a police report after arriving back in Tel Aviv.
The IDF said in a statement afterward that its forces arrived at Ein Samiya after receiving a report of a clash between Israeli civilians. It claimed the involved parties were no longer at the scene by the time troops arrived. Other soldiers stationed nearby subsequently received a report that a minibus leaving the scene contained passengers involved in an assault, the army said, adding that the soldiers stopped the vehicle and transferred the handling of the case to police.
Police did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Amichai said the incident highlighted how Israeli authorities in the West Bank act to serve extremist settlers, rather than to uphold law and order.
Palestinians say they are regularly detained by Israeli forces who arrive at the scene after a settler attack has unfolded and allow the perpetrators to flee.
מוקדם יותר דווח כי פלסטיני בן 16 נורה למוות בכפר ג'ילג'יליא באזור רמאללה בעת כניסת צה"ל ומתנחלים לכפר. המתנחלים תועדו מוליכים החוצה עדר צאן בליווי כוחות. כמה שעות קודם מתנחלים דיווחו כי נגנב עדר צאן ממאחז באזור. בצה"ל התייחסו לפני זמן קצר ואמרו כי הכוח קפץ אחרי כניסת המתנחלים… pic.twitter.com/xz1DaCUNWO
— Nurit Yohanan (@nurityohanan) May 13, 2026
On Wednesday, settlers raided the Palestinian village of Jaljilya accompanied by Israeli soldiers.
During the raid, a 16-year-old Palestinian was shot dead.
The IDF later claimed that it had arrived at the scene following a report from settlers claiming that residents of the village had stolen livestock from their nearby illegal outpost.
Footage showed an IDF convoy escorting the settlers out of the village together with dozens of animals, which the Palestinians said had actually belonged to them.
Settler attacks have been taking place on a daily basis, with little enforcement by Israeli authorities.
Critics accuse the government of turning a blind eye to the violent attacks by settler extremists, which have become increasingly deadly in recent years. The military recorded 867 incidents of nationalistic crime and settler violence in 2025, compared to 682 incidents in 2024.
The IDF has also faced criticism for often standing by while attacks unfold — with troops sometimes actively participating — or failing to prosecute those responsible.
The Times of Israel Community.