Three Palestinians said injured by IDF amid settler attack on West Bank village
Soldiers said to have opened fire with rubber bullets, IDF says troops were dispatched due to clashes; 2 others said hurt by pepper spray after settlers attack near Bethlehem
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Three Palestinians were reportedly injured Saturday by Israeli troops amid a settler attack on the West Bank village of Umm Safa.
Marwan Sabbah, head of the Umm Safa Village Council, northwest of Ramallah, told the Palestinian Authority’s Wafa news agency that the settlers entered the village and stole four sheep before Israeli troops arrived on the scene.
The soldiers opened fire with rubber bullets, injuring the Palestinians, the report said. It was unclear what immediately preceded the troops opening fire.
A military spokesperson told The Times of Israel that troops were dispatched to the area following reports of confrontation between Israeli and Palestinians.
Troops used riot dispersal means, and the suspects dispersed, the Israel Defense Forces said.
There were no reports of arrests.
Confrontations erupted as Palestinian residents confronted Israeli occupation forces and settlers in the village of Umm Safa, northwest of Ramallah. pic.twitter.com/c5Ch2NcdkP
— Eye on Palestine (@EyeonPalestine) July 4, 2026
Elsewhere in the West Bank, Wafa reported that extremist Israeli settlers set fire to a Bedouin home overnight in the community of Arab al-Kaabneh, east of Ramallah.
There were no reports of casualties.
The agency also reported that two Palestinians were being treated for eye injuries due to pepper spray, after Israeli settlers attacked them in the Khalayel al-Loz area, southeast of Bethlehem.
The Palestinian Red Crescent emergency service said it transported two people to a local hospital for treatment.
Israeli settlers set fire to a home in the Arab Al-Kaabneh Bedouin community, east of the town of Taybeh in the occupied West Bank province of Ramallah. pic.twitter.com/HyLmbqdwEV
— WAFA News Agency – English (@WAFANewsEnglish) July 4, 2026
Settler attacks on Palestinians take place on a daily basis in the West Bank, often with the tacit approval or active participation of IDF soldiers, including settlers tasked with protecting their own communities as part of the IDF reserves.
Attacks regularly take place on Friday nights and Saturdays, during the Jewish Shabbat rest day, even though many of the alleged perpetrators are religious.
The attacks, which have spiked since the Hamas-led onslaught of October 7, 2023, are rarely prosecuted. However, six teenagers were indicted Friday on terror charges for allegedly attacking Palestinians in the Ramallah area earlier this month, including setting fire to a mosque with worshippers inside.
The Times of Israel Community.