Settlers set fire to Palestinian buildings, cars in West Bank; no injuries or arrests
Attacks reported near Nablus and in Masafer Yatta, where assailants appeared to be guarded by armed man in IDF gear; military says it is investigating incident
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Settlers reportedly set fire to Palestinian property in the northern and southern West Bank on Friday, with a person apparently carrying an Israel Defense Forces assault rifle and guarding the assailants in one of the attacks.
No injuries or arrests were reported from either attack. While settler violence takes place on a daily basis, arrests are rare.
On Friday afternoon, about a dozen masked attackers in dark hoodies set fire to the entrance to a warehouse in the village of Asira al-Qibliya, near Nablus in the northern West Bank, security camera footage showed.
The attackers in the footage could be heard speaking Hebrew, and threads of tzitzit, a Jewish ritual undergarment, could be seen peaking out from beneath some of their clothing. As the attackers fled, a man ran after them and hurled a stone in their direction.
A resident who spoke to Palestinian media said some 30 or 40 settlers took part in the attack, and that they also set fire to two cars.
Separately, Palestinian media reported that Israeli assailants set fire to two vehicles early on Friday in Masafer Yatta, a collection of hamlets on the outskirts of the town of Yatta in the southern West Bank.
مستوطنون يضرمون النار بمركبة وباب منزل في قرية عصيرة القبلية، جنوب نابلس. pic.twitter.com/mOHwkLAe2z
— شبكة قدس الإخبارية (@qudsn) April 17, 2026
According to WAFA, the Palestinian Authority’s official news agency, the arson in the Majd al-Ba’ area was committed by residents of the nearby settlement of Otniel who also raided several Palestinian homes in the area.
Security camera footage published by Arabic media showed a masked attacker tossing a flaming object into one of the cars.
Separate, blurrier footage, published by Haaretz, showed a person dressed in khaki, with an assault rifle, standing guard as other people ran back and forth, including one carrying a flaming object.
אדם חמוש בנשק ארוך איבטח הלילה טרור יהודי בדרום הר חברון.
בלילה בין חמישי לשישי הוצתו מספר רכבים במערב יטא. הפעם מצלמות האבטחה קלטו ישראלי חמוש בנשק ארוך מחפה על חבריו – בזמן שאלו מציתים רכבים (קרופ מהסרטון המלא ). לא היה דיווח על נפגעים בגוף.התיעוד הועבר לדו״צ בבקשה להתייחסותם… pic.twitter.com/gVuDmfk4b3
— Matan Golan (@MatanGolanPhoto) April 17, 2026
In a statement quoted by Haaretz, the IDF said it learned of the incident only after it happened and deployed forces to the scene.
Police are handling the investigation, the military said.
Settler violence has climbed precipitously since the Hamas-led onslaught of October 7, 2023, that sparked the Gaza war.
The violence spiked after the start of the US-Israeli war against Iran on February 28. Yesh Din, an Israeli organization that opposes settlements and monitors settler violence, this week reported 378 instances of settler attacks on Palestinians and their property during the Iran war.
These attacks were carried out in 148 Palestinian communities and dwellings across the territory, said Yesh Din, adding that eight Palestinians were shot and killed, and 200 were injured.
The Times of Israel Community.