Israeli Soldiers At Ain Sina Checkpoint Detain Sheep Farmers, Settlers Steal Livestock

In the northern West Bank, Al-Jazeera Net describes how Israeli occupation checkpoints have turned into ambushes for robberies by coercion, with sheep farmers reporting repeated assaults aimed at stealing Palestinian livestock and taking it for themselves.

“Rising complaints from sheep farmers in the northern West Bank regions about repeated assaults carried out by Israeli occupation soldiers and settlers, aimed at stealing Palestinian livestock and taking it for themselves, amid a lack of protection and repeated incidents of detention and beating”

Al-Jazeera Net

The outlet says Palestinian citizen عبد العظيم عسلية told Al Jazeera Mubasher that Israeli occupation soldiers exploit security checkpoints in the West Bank and “do not miss any opportunity to practice various forms of abuse against Palestinians,” including “verbal and physical assault and destruction of property, up to theft of money and belongings and even livestock.”

Al-Jazeera Net

Al Jazeera Net recounts an assault on عسلية and his brother Muhammad at Ain Sina checkpoint north of Ramallah on the evening of Wednesday, April 15, while they were returning from Jenin after buying 62 head of sheep.

The report says soldiers stopped them and forced them off the truck, tied their hands, forced them to kneel, and detained them for hours before bringing settlers to the scene while the brothers were led inside the military tower.

A witness cited by the outlet says settlers, with the help of the occupation soldiers, stole a number of sheep that the brothers later reported.

Al Jazeera Net adds that the brothers’ detention lasted until dawn, during which they were repeatedly beaten, and that the losses included theft of 11 head of sheep valued at between $7,500 and $8,000, plus about $1,000 in cash.

The account ends with عسلية confirming that the incident was not the first, pointing to repeated assaults on him and his brother at their farm in the town of Burqa, including sheep theft and property damage.

بوابة الشروق frames the West Bank situation as part of a broader escalation, warning that Al-Azhar Observatory says the Israeli occupation is exploiting the war on Iran to escalate settlement activity in the West Bank.

The outlet says Al-Azhar Observatory for Countering Extremism affirmed that Israeli occupation forces back the escalation of settlers’ daily attacks on Palestinian communities by firing tear gas at Palestinians and preventing ambulances from reaching the injured.

Association France Palestine Solidarité

It adds that the Observatory argues these practices are “not disconnected from what is happening in the Gaza Strip,” describing them as “a link in a pattern of deliberate disregard for Palestinian lives and pushing them to abandon their lands.”

The report describes West Bank cities and villages as experiencing a state of “total paralysis” due to near-total curfews and the closure of checkpoints with earthen berms and iron gates.

It says Israeli forces isolated entire areas such as the village of Duma and blocked the entry of food supplies and natural gas, while also preventing the evacuation of patients and the elderly.

بوابة الشروق says this has led to a depletion of shops of basic goods and hindered the arrival of medical teams, “which threatens a humanitarian, living, and health disaster.”

The outlet also says that alongside official restrictions, settlers intensified daily attacks on Palestinian communities, especially in areas north of the Jordan Valley and in Qiryot and Al-Mughair.

It describes these assaults as ranging from breaking into homes and destroying property and spreading fear among families to direct killings, uprooting olive trees, and stealing livestock.

Association France Palestine Solidarité reports that Israeli army reserve units assigned to settlers function as self-defense militias in the occupied West Bank, describing a system that, in its account, blurs the line between state violence and settler violence.

“Al-Azhar Observatory for Countering Extremism affirmed that the Israeli occupation forces play a role in backing the escalation of settlers' daily attacks on Palestinian communities, by firing tear gas at Palestinians and preventing ambulances from reaching the injured”

Bawabat ash-Shuruq

The outlet says the Israeli army has become “a means for violent settlers to intensify their campaign against Palestinians across the occupied West Bank,” with reserve units drawn from the settlements functioning as self-defense militias, “according to Israeli soldiers and activists, as well as the United Nations.”

It describes Hagmar, or regional defense units, as having been established across the West Bank since October 2023, as conscripts and the regular army deployed in the region prepared to be sent to Gaza.

The report says this system has allowed weapons and powers to be handed to thousands of settlers, who have formed military units in their own communities, “without there being any particular oversight of the use of these powers.”

It adds that the state pays Hagmar salaries, but they operate “in practice in parallel to regular battalions,” and it quotes a reservist identified as Yaakov [1] describing Hagmar as “armed militias who do what they want.”

Yaakov says, “Officially, they are under the command of the battalion commander and his deputy, but on the ground, they have a free hand,” and he claims “The high command closes its eyes when incidents occur. They do not answer to any orders.”

The outlet says Yaakov’s unit was often called to sites of incidents by Israeli militants supporting the Palestinians, and that upon arrival they usually found settler reservists already on the scene, with Yaakov saying, “Most of the time, when something happened, the Hagmar arrived before us… Sometimes we arrived at the same time as them, but it was very rare that we beat them there.”

It also quotes Yaakov saying, “When they arrive, in the best case the Hagmar do not participate. In the worst case, they join the settlers,” and it reports that he witnessed daily violence including “cattle theft” and “reckless handling of weapons.”

The Association France Palestine Solidarité account places multiple voices into the same argument about how reserve units operate in the West Bank, while also including an Israeli army response.

It says the Hagmar system has led to “the creation of what resembles settlers’ militias within the very ranks of the Israeli army,” quoting Nadav Weiman, executive director of Breaking the Silence, who adds that “These soldier-settlers are animated by a violent, uncompromising ideology, and have all the authority of regular Israeli army soldiers to put that ideology into practice.”

Al-Jazeera Net

The outlet then reports that the Israeli army said there had been “a few incidents in which regional defense unit reservists acted in a manner that did not meet the expected standards,” while insisting they “do not represent the majority of the regional defense unit reservists.”

It also says some reservists have been dismissed from duty and, in other cases, criminal investigations have been opened, citing a spokesman.

The report ties the system to legal and casualty claims, saying that since October 2023 Israeli forces have been indicted for three violent offenses and three property offenses in the occupied West Bank, according to the rights group Yesh Din.

It further claims that “Israeli forces have killed more than 1,000 Palestinians during this period,” and it notes that “The most recent homicide-related indictment dates back to 2019.”

The outlet also quotes Yehuda Shaul, co-director of the think tank Ofek and co-founder of Breaking the Silence, saying, “After October 7, 2023, the army and the settlers are unified,” and “Settlers are the Israeli army; the Israeli army is made up of settlers; there is no longer a claim of a buffer zone.”

It adds Shaul’s statement that “It is no longer a situation where the Israeli army sits by while settlers attack; it is not even a matter of one or two soldiers joining settler attacks.”

The report then cites UN data that “settler attacks have completely displaced 29 Palestinian communities since October 2023, more than one per month on average,” and it contrasts this with “In 2022 and during the first nine months of 2023, four communities were displaced, i.e., one every five months.”

Across the three reports, the Gaza-linked framing of the West Bank crisis centers on restrictions, attacks, and the fear that Palestinians’ ability to live and seek medical help is being systematically undermined.

“Photo: Settlers attack olive harvests in Beita, October 10, 2025 © Avishay Mohar The Israeli army has become a means for violent settlers to intensify their campaign against Palestinians across the occupied West Bank, with reserve units drawn from the settlements functioning as self-defense militias, according to Israeli soldiers and activists, as well as the United Nations”

Association France Palestine Solidarité

بوابة الشروق says West Bank areas are under near-total curfews and that checkpoints are closed with earthen berms and iron gates, while Israeli forces have isolated the village of Duma and blocked entry of food supplies and natural gas, even preventing evacuation of patients and the elderly.

Association France Palestine Solidarité

It warns that the resulting depletion of basic goods and hindered medical teams “threatens a humanitarian, living, and health disaster,” while also describing settlers’ daily attacks north of the Jordan Valley and in Qiryot and Al-Mughair that include “direct killings” and “uprooting olive trees.”

Al-Jazeera Net’s account of Ain Sina checkpoint describes how soldiers and settlers allegedly used the checkpoint to force sheep farmers off trucks, detain them for hours, and steal livestock, with عسلية saying the losses included theft of 11 head of sheep valued at between $7,500 and $8,000 and about $1,000 in cash.

Association France Palestine Solidarité adds a structural dimension by describing Hagmar as established across the West Bank since October 2023 and as operating “in practice in parallel to regular battalions,” with Yaakov [1] saying “The high command closes its eyes when incidents occur. They do not answer to any orders.”

The outlet also reports that the UN warned this month that “the growing phenomenon of 'settler-soldiers' … further blurs the line between state violence and settler violence.”

In the same report, UN data is used to quantify displacement, saying “settler attacks have completely displaced 29 Palestinian communities since October 2023,” and it contrasts that with “four communities were displaced” in 2022 and the first nine months of 2023.

Taken together, the sources portray a continuing cycle in which checkpoints, curfews, and settler-linked armed activity intersect with restrictions on movement and access to essentials, leaving communities facing escalating risks to livelihoods and survival.