|
Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...
|
Maghayer Al-Dir, West Bank – June 25, 2025 — Three Palestinians were shot dead and several others wounded during violent clashes involving Jewish settlers, Israeli Border Police, and local Palestinian residents in the village of Maghayer Al-Dir, north of Ramallah, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) confirmed on Wednesday.
The deadly confrontation unfolded when approximately 30 Jewish individuals entered the village early Wednesday morning and reportedly set fire to Palestinian-owned homes and vehicles, according to Israeli security sources who spoke to Army Radio.
The intruders also allegedly spray-painted graffiti on village walls before Palestinian residents began confronting them.
In response to the settlers’ incursion, Palestinians reportedly hurled stones in an attempt to repel the rioters. The Jewish individuals responded with their own stone-throwing, prompting intervention by Israeli Border Police officers on the scene.
Palestinian state news agency WAFA reported that Israeli forces opened fire on the Palestinian crowd, resulting in the deaths of three individuals and injuries to at least seven more.
An IDF soldier was lightly injured during the altercation, apparently as a result of stone-throwing, and was treated on-site, according to the military. The IDF said five Israeli suspects involved in the incident were arrested and transferred into police custody.
The incident marks another spike in the escalating tension between settlers and Palestinians in the West Bank, particularly in areas surrounding Bedouin and rural communities. In recent months, rights groups and local officials have warned of an increase in settler violence, particularly in the northern West Bank.
Images from the scene showed Palestinians hurriedly packing belongings and preparing to leave the area, fearing additional attacks. Several families were seen evacuating the Bedouin village amid growing concerns about their safety.
“This was not an isolated act of vandalism. It was an orchestrated assault meant to instill fear and drive families from their land,” said a spokesperson for the Palestinian Authority, condemning both the settler violence and the use of live fire by Israeli security forces.
The IDF, in its statement, emphasized that all settlers involved in the attack were evacuated from the village by security personnel and that the situation was brought under control.
Human rights organizations, including B’Tselem, have criticized the Israeli government for what they say is a policy of leniency toward settler violence, with many incidents going unprosecuted or under-investigated. Wednesday’s violence adds to a growing list of deadly encounters between settlers and Palestinian civilians this year.
The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) has recorded over 500 settler-related incidents in the West Bank in 2025 alone, many resulting in injuries or property damage to Palestinians.
Israeli police said the five individuals arrested in connection with Wednesday’s events would be investigated for their role in the unrest, but offered no details on potential charges.
The deaths have further fueled tensions in the region as Palestinian officials call for international accountability, and Israeli leaders face increased scrutiny over settler violence in the occupied territories.