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In Khirbet al-Tawil, settlers disguised as soldiers trying to displace Palestinians and block them from grazing sheep on their land

Original Social Media Post

"لا يغرّك الزي، هدول مش جنود! مستوطنون يلعبون لعبة التنكّر بهدف واحد: تهجير الفلسطينيين ومنعهم من رعي أغنامهم والتواجد في أرضهم وطبعا لا تنتهي القصة بهذه البساطة، إذ تدخل جيش الاحتلال - ليس لمحاسبة المنتحلين - بل لاحتجاز الراعي محمود حسين الحمامدة، لأنه رفض الانصياع للمستوطنين" - Source

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Archivist Notes On This Video

“Don’t be fooled by the uniform—these are not soldiers!

Settlers playing a disguise game with one goal: to displace Palestinians and prevent them from grazing their sheep and being present on their land.

And of course, the story does not end that simply. The occupation army then intervenes—not to hold the impersonators accountable—but to detain the shepherd Mahmoud Hussein al-Hamamda, because he refused to comply with the settlers.”

Event Notes

Attacks and pogroms on Khirbet al-Tawil

Khirbet al-Tawil is a small Palestinian rural hamlet located east of Aqraba, in the Nablus Governorate in the occupied West Bank, on the slopes overlooking parts of the Jordan Valley area. It lies in Area C, which is under Israeli civil and military control under the Oslo framework.

Khirbet al-Tawil appears frequently in reporting because of issues involving demolitions, land access, military-zone designations, and nearby settlement activity.

On April 15, 2024:

Roughly 50 armed settlers attacked Khirbet al-Tawil. According to local officials, shots were fired during clashes. Two Palestinians — identified in reports as Mohammed Bani Jame and Abdulrahman Bani Fadel/Bani Fadl — were killed, and others were injured. Reuters and other reports described this as part of a wave of retaliatory settler attacks after the killing of an Israeli teenage shepherd.

On July 11, 2024:

Israeli authorities demolished agricultural structures and sheep pens in Khirbet al-Tawil. While not itself described as a settler assault, documentation linked these measures to wider pressure on shepherd communities already facing settler attacks and displacement risks.

On July 3, 2025:

Israeli settlers established new illegal outposts in the Khirbet al-Tawil/Aqraba area, including mobile homes and embarked on leveling and bulldozing the area around them.

On July 9, 2025:

Settlers attacked Khirbet al-Tawil, injuring eight Palestinians. The Palestine Red Crescent Society teams transported "three cases of live bullet wounds to the legs resulting from the settler attack on Khirbet al-Tawil" to hospitals, the humanitarian organization said in a statement.

In a later statement, the Red Crescent said its teams treated "five additional injuries, including one child, caused by beatings from settlers."

April 13, 2026,

Settlers are building a (new) outpost near the village homes with the aim of expelling the families and taking over the houses and privately owned land. According to testimony, last night the outpost residents harassed people in their homes and stole a solar panel. A soldier or someone impersonating a soldier, wearing military uniform and carrying Israeli army-issued weapons, was together with a settler.

The details for each video come from social media. None of it has been verified.