Extremist Israeli Settlers Leave Zahran Shanabla in Coma After Qusra Attack

For nearly a month, Zahran Shanabla has remained in a coma in a Nablus hospital after being found left for dead following a brutal attack by extremist Israeli settlers in the West Bank village of Qusra.

The Times of Israel reports that Shanabla, 32, was brought to Rafidia Hospital and spent three weeks sedated and intubated.

Al Jazeera

According to his brother, on April 25 Shanabla’s condition improved slightly: he was transferred out of intensive care and is now breathing on his own, but he has yet to open his eyes or speak.

The article says doctors “don’t know if he ever will,” and that his family can only speculate about what transpired during the attack.

It describes how, on the night of April 4, “dozens of settlers attacked the village of Qusra, south of Nablus, setting fire to the poultry farm” on the village’s outskirts.

The Times of Israel adds that Shanabla was one of several workers on site, was initially reported missing, and was found about two hours later unconscious but alive.

The report says a photo taken at the time shows him lying next to “a patch of dried blood,” with bruises visible on his face, and that the Palestinian Red Crescent said he sustained severe head injuries.

The Times of Israel describes an IDF response immediately after the Qusra attack, saying “troops were dispatched to the area following reports of Palestinians throwing stones at Israeli civilians who had entered the village.”

It adds that “Additional forces were sent after reports that Israeli civilians had set fire to property and assaulted a Palestinian,” who was then evacuated for medical treatment at a hospital.

Haaretz

The report says police announced the following day that eight suspects aged 13 to 48, detained at the scene, had been placed under arrest on suspicion of assault and arson.

Despite that swift step, the article states that “no progress in the investigation has been reported since.”

In response to a query, Israel Police told The Times of Israel that police forces entered the area “accompanied by IDF troops, to collect testimonies, evidence, and findings, and that the investigation is ongoing.”

The Times of Israel also situates the attack within a broader access regime: it says that since October 7, 2023, “the main entrance to the village has been blocked by the Israel Defense Forces,” sealing off direct Palestinian access to roads used by settlers.

Residents instead use a side road passing through the adjacent village of Jorush, and the report says that while a visit “one morning last week” found the atmosphere calm, residents said the quiet belied the violence they have been facing.

The article also notes that Qusra is home to around 7,000 people and that Shanabla commuted from Taluza, with the drive taking an hour and a half each way along 65 kilometers (40 miles) of West Bank roads.

Beyond Qusra, other reports describe additional settler attacks and injuries across the West Bank and nearby areas.

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Haaretz

Arab News (www.arabnews.jp) reports that a Palestinian child was injured on Saturday during an attack by Israeli settlers on residents in Khirbet Al-Hadidiya in the northern Jordan Valley, northeast of the occupied West Bank, after settlers “assaulted residents with pepper spray.”

The same article says that in Masafer Yatta, south of Hebron, settlers released their livestock and uprooted and damaged “around 30 olive trees,” and it attributes the claim to anti-settlement activist Osama Makhameh.

It also describes an incident in the Hamroush area east of the town of Sa’ir, northeast of Hebron, where settlers released livestock onto Palestinian land and “destroyed Palestinian crops.”

Arab News adds that residents of villages and hamlets in Masafer Yatta and the town of Sa’ir called on local and international organizations to protect them and stop attacks by Israeli forces and settlers against residents, herders, and property.

The report also says that three Palestinians were injured after being assaulted by settlers in the town of Jalud, and that the Palestinian Red Crescent Society treated three people injured in colonist attack in Jalud.

In another incident, it reports that four Palestinians, including an elderly woman, were injured following an attack in Jabal Jalis east of Hebron, and that Rashid Al-Zrou Al-Tamimi said Palestinian Red Crescent teams transferred three injured people.

Haaretz similarly reports that masked settlers attacked Palestinians in several assaults across the West Bank on Saturday, wounding at least six, including a 71-year-old woman, and says the Red Crescent reported the injuries.

The accounts of settler violence and its consequences vary in emphasis and framing across the sources.

The Times of Israel centers on the condition of one victim, describing how Zahran Shanabla “has been in a coma in a Nablus hospital” and quoting his brother that “The doctors don’t know what his condition will be going forward.”

Middle East Monitor

It also foregrounds official responses, including the IDF statement about “troops were dispatched” and the police announcement about “eight suspects aged 13 to 48.”

By contrast, Arab News (www.arabnews.jp) focuses on a sequence of incidents—Khirbet Al-Hadidiya, Masafer Yatta, Khirbet Rajoum Ali, Hamroush, Jalud, and Jabal Jalis—using named activists and specific damage claims such as “around 30 olive trees.”

Haaretz, in turn, reports a broader pattern of assaults “across West Bank,” describing “Masked settlers” and stating that the Red Crescent reported injuries including “a 71-year-old woman.”

Orient XXI provides a different kind of narrative, describing “more than 150 settler attacks against Palestinian farmers” recorded on the margins of the olive harvest that began in early October 2025, and it frames the landscape through “routes reserved for settlers” that it says “render apartheid practicable.”

It also cites OCHA figures, stating “Between October 7, 2023 and October 7, 2024, 1,654 attacks against Palestinian civilians” and “Result: 722 Palestinians were killed “in the context of the occupation”.”

Al Jazeera’s report on Jalud describes a specific attack in which Israeli settlers “set fire to a Palestinian home in the occupied West Bank village of Jalud, reportedly as residents were still inside,” presenting the event as part of “wider violence in the occupied territories.”

The sources also describe what is at stake for victims and families, and what actions are being taken or demanded.

In the case of Zahran Shanabla, The Times of Israel reports that his brother said, “The doctors don’t know what his condition will be going forward,” and that Shanabla has “yet to open his eyes or speak.”

Mondoweiss

It says relatives have “largely refrained from speaking to the media since the incident,” and it attributes the concern to fear that media exposure could lead to them being targeted, citing “a Palestinian journalist who requested anonymity.”

For other injured Palestinians, Arab News reports that the Palestinian Red Crescent Society treated three people injured in Jalud and that Rashid Al-Zrou Al-Tamimi said teams transferred three injured people after an attack in Jabal Jalis.

Haaretz similarly ties injuries to the Red Crescent, stating that the Red Crescent reported at least six wounded, including a 71-year-old woman.

Orient XXI describes a longer arc of consequences, saying “Result: 722 Palestinians were killed “in the context of the occupation” in the same period” and that “settler attacks have intensified in recent hours,” naming Al-Funduq and Jinsafut as villages east of Qalqilya.

It also states that the territories are “almost sealed off,” adding that “UNRWA, the UN agency in charge of refugees, has been cut off by Israel.”

Al Jazeera’s Jalud report presents an immediate danger inside homes, saying settlers “set fire to a Palestinian home” while residents were reportedly still inside.