Israeli Settlers Attack Palestinians in Madama and Beita South of Nablus, Hospitalizing Seven

In the northern West Bank, settlers attacked Palestinians in the village of Madama, south of Nablus, and the Palestinian Red Crescent Society said seven Palestinians were hospitalized Saturday morning.

The Times of Israel reported that two men, aged 72 and 53, were shot in the leg, while a 46-year-old man sustained shrapnel injuries to the face, and two other men, aged 40 and 43, and two women aged 45 and 53, were beaten.

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Madama village chief Rami Nassar told WAFA that dozens of settlers from a new outpost north of Madama took part in the attack on shepherds on the village outskirts, and the IDF arrived and initially prevented medics from attending to the wounded.

In the town of Beita, also south of Nablus, WAFA said settlers hurled stones at a home and smashed the windows of several cars overnight, and Palestinian media published security camera footage timestamped to 15 minutes past midnight showing five people in dark hoodies wielding clubs and throwing rocks at a home on the outskirts of the town.

The Times of Israel said Nassar and the Red Crescent reported that the IDF arrived on the scene and initially prevented the medics from attending to the wounded, while the military and police did not immediately comment.

In a separate incident reported by The Times of Israel, Palestinian media said a Palestinian was lightly wounded in a settler attack near the village of Qusra, in the same area, and that he sustained a light knife wound and was evacuated for medical treatment.

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Yeni Safak English described settlers attacking Palestinian homes in Beita and damaging farmland in the southern Masafer Yatta area on Saturday, and it said residents confronted the attackers and Israeli forces fired light bombs into the sky over the town.

Yeni Safak English also cited the Palestinian Wall and Settlement Resistance Commission for a documented surge in violence, saying settlers carried out 540 attacks against civilians across the occupied West Bank in April alone, and it added that Israeli forces and settlers have killed 1,168 Palestinians and displaced around 33,000 people in the territory since the start of the Gaza war in October 2023.

The Times of Israel framed the Madama and Beita attacks as part of near-daily settler violence in the West Bank, saying critics accuse the government of turning a blind eye and that the IDF has faced criticism for often standing by while such settler attacks unfold.

Yeni Safak English said the attacks occurred amid a documented surge in violence and added that Israeli forces and settlers have killed 1,168 Palestinians and displaced around 33,000 people in the territory since the start of the Gaza war in October 2023.

B'Tselem’s account of Talfit, Nablus Governorate described settlers arriving on tractors, opening a volley of bullets at farmers tilling their lands, and then attacking residents and damaging cars and homes, while it said Border Police forces arrived after about an hour and instead of dispersing the settlers, attacked the residents.

B'Tselem also included testimony from Ismail Hamid, who said he was stabbed in the leg after settlers struck him with sticks, and it recorded that he was taken to a clinic in the village of Qablan where a doctor treated and stitched the wound.