Settler attacks on Deir Abu Mashal community

2026

Since the start of 2026, Palestinian communities across the occupied West Bank are facing an intensifying combination of military restrictions, settler attacks, land seizure efforts and mounting displacement pressures, according to local officials, rights groups and recent Israeli media reports. A report published by the Israeli newspaper Haaretz revealed that Israeli authorities are working on regulations that would effectively legalize so-called “settlement farms” established across occupied Palestinian territory. The report noted that 103 such settlement farms have been established since 2023.

June 10, 2026, Israeli settlers established a new outpost on privately owned Palestinian land in the village of Deir Abu Mashal.

Hamas official Mahmoud Mardawi praised residents of Deir Abu Mashal, northwest of Ramallah, for confronting an attempt by Israeli settlers to establish a new settlement outpost on the village’s land, which sparked clashes with Israeli forces and settler militias.

June 11, 2026, Israeli settler erected a new outpost, a tent, on Palestinian-owned land. A group of colonists broke into the Al-Qarana hill area south of the village and set up a colonial tent on the site, only days after a similar structure had been removed.

June 13, 2026, Residents said settlers had re-established a tent at the same site on Friday morning, only days after it had reportedly been removed following a court decision, which villagers viewed as another attempt to establish a permanent settlement outpost on their land. Illegal settlers armed with clubs, knives and firearms attacked Palestinians working on agricultural land in an area known as Al-Mazar, in the Talat al-Qaran’e area south of Deir Abu Mash’al. The settlers first opened fire toward a group of young men before surrounding them and carrying out physical attacks using clubs and sharp objects. Four Palestinians were injured in the assault and one victim suffered severe head and facial injuries and remains in intensive care after sustaining skull fractures. According to Jamil Mousa, head of the village council, residents had dismantled the outpost and removed an Israeli flag before coming under attack by settlers and Israeli forces. He described the village as facing pressure from all directions. “We are surrounded from all four sides.".

The four Palestinians injured are from the same family. One seriously, in a settler attack northwest of Ramallah. One of the injured, Sanad Zahran, said a vehicle carrying settlers stopped near a group of residents working on their land and that the settlers then approached them. According to his testimony, when the Palestinians tried to return to their vehicle, the settlers "opened fire with live ammunition" and then attacked them with "batons, stones, axes, and sharp tools." Zahran said the assault continued until the victims "lost the ability to move," after which the attackers allegedly stole their mobile phones before leaving the area. The attack occurred hours after residents had dismantled a settler outpost erected on village land. Earlier, Israeli forces had entered the village during Friday prayers and attempted to prevent residents from reaching the area to protest the outpost, while firing large amounts of tear gas during ensuing confrontations.