[[link removed]]

INSIDE A COORDINATED, MULTI-VILLAGE SETTLER-SOLDIER POGROM IN WEST
BAMK – MASAFER YATTA  
[[link removed]]


 

Basel Adra
January 30, 2026
+972 Magazine
[[link removed]]

*
[[link removed]]
*
*
[[link removed]]

_ As settlers set homes ablaze and looted livestock across three
villages for over five hours, Israeli soldiers blocked ambulances,
arrested victims, and even took part in beatings. This is how it
unfolded. _

An activist helps extinguish a fire set during a settler acct in
Al-Tuban, Masafer Yatta, occupied West Bank, January 27, 2026., Photo:
Roni Amir / +972 Magazine

 

On the evening of Jan. 27, Israeli settlers launched one of the most
devastating pogroms on the Palestinian communities of Masafer Yatta in
recent memory, attacking three villages simultaneously with what
appeared to be an unprecedented level of coordination with the Israeli
army.

After receiving distress messages via WhatsApp from residents of
Al-Fakheit, Al-Tuban, and Al-Halawa, reporting that settlers were
moving from one village to another, stealing sheep, attacking
families, and setting fires, I headed toward the area with a group of
around 20 Palestinian, Israeli, and international activists. At one
point, a settler vehicle blocked our path, delaying volunteer
firefighters from the nearby village of At-Tuwani
[[link removed]]
who were attempting to reach the scene with a small water tank mounted
on a four-wheel-drive vehicle for several crucial minutes.

When we finally reached Al-Tuban, we went to assist 42-year-old Samir
Hamamda and his family, who had been living in a shed since Israeli
forces demolished their home in November. Settlers had approached the
structure shortly before our arrival; unable to break through the
tightly locked door, they gathered wood and straw against the entrance
and set it alight before leaving. We managed to extinguish the flames,
but the thick smoke caused one of the children to wheeze from
inhalation.

As we looked around, we saw fires burning in the neighboring villages
as well, and nothing but settler vehicles in the surrounding roads. It
was then that the scale of the attack became clear.

In Al-Tuban, residents told us that in nearby Al-Fakheit, 49-year-old
Mohammad Abu Sabha had been injured and was in urgent need of medical
assistance. We went directly to his home, where we found him lying on
the ground, bleeding, vomiting, and unconscious, surrounded by family
members. According to his relatives, Mohammad had been preparing to
rush to the aid of residents of Al-Halawa who had already come under
attack, when settlers ambushed and assaulted him near his house. 

 
49-year-old Mohammad Abu Sabha receives medical treatment after being
attacked by settlers, in Al-Fakheit, Masafer Yatta, the occupied West
Bank, January 27, 2026.  (Photo: Roni Amir / +972 Magazine)
 

 
Damage to Samir Hamamda’s car following a settler attack in
Al-Tuban, Masafer Yatta, occupied West Bank, Jan. 27, 2026.  (Photo:
Roni Amir / +972 Magazine)
 

Footage from a surveillance camera
[[link removed]] installed on the Abu
Sabha family home shows a group of masked settlers armed with clubs
attacking Mohammad as he stood outside. After he fell to the ground,
the settlers turned on his family, striking his 16-year-old daughter,
Naghm, on the hand before she managed to escape inside with her
younger siblings.

Mohammad’s elderly mother, Duha, was unable to reach the house in
time. Settlers struck her on the head, broke her arm, and fractured
one of her ribs. They then shattered the window of the room where the
family had taken shelter, sprayed tear gas inside, and smashed the
glass of the family’s vehicle before leaving the scene.

With paramedics reluctant to enter the area amid the ongoing attacks
and without sufficient protection, Mohammad remained bleeding on the
ground for approximately an hour before receiving treatment. He and
his mother were eventually transported together in a single ambulance
to Al-Ahli Hospital in Hebron. Mohammad remains hospitalized with head
bleeding and multiple bruises, while his mother is also being treated
for her injuries.

At that point, we turned back to escort two ambulances that had twice
lost their way while trying to navigate between the villages.

We proceeded with one of the ambulances toward Al-Halawa, where we had
received reports of another attack. About five vehicles accompanied
us, as an Israeli Civil Administration vehicle trailed behind.  

 
Settlers and soldiers at the entrance to Al-Halawa as an ambulance
seeks access to treat wounded residents, Masafer Yatta, occupied West
Bank, Jan. 27, 2026.  (Photo: Roni Amir / +972 Magazine)
 

Near the entrance to the village, a settler blocked the road with his
vehicle, while at least two military vehicles were present nearby. The
settler shouted at the soldiers in Hebrew, “Stop them, [they’re]
Arabs!” A soldier then jumped out, cocked his weapon, aimed it
directly at us, and ordered us to stop, confiscating the key to one of
the vehicles.

Paramedics and two young men exited the ambulance and ran toward the
village. When we attempted to follow, soldiers stopped us at gunpoint.
At that point, more and more armed settlers — carrying firearms and
clubs, some with their faces covered — began to pour in from the
nearby outposts
[[link removed]] of Mitzpe
Yair and Avigayil. The situation quickly became frightening.

Although soldiers initially appeared to allow the ambulance to
proceed, settlers stood in the roadway with their weapons and blocked
it. The soldiers then halted the ambulance as well, preventing it from
entering Al-Halawa.

For at least half an hour, we were held at the scene. When the
soldiers eventually returned the confiscated key, we decided to turn
back toward Al-Fakheit, as access to Al-Halawa remained blocked. Three
Israeli activists who were with us boarded the ambulance alongside the
driver, who had been left alone — before settlers opened the
ambulance door and attempted to attack them. 

One settler struck the window of a nearby vehicle with his weapon,
while a soldier confiscated the phone of Nidal Abu Aram, head of the
Masafer Yatta Council, to prevent him from filming. After some time,
the soldier threw the phone back into our car. All the while, masked
settlers moved freely among our vehicles, as soldiers stood by. 

 
A settler and a soldier face activists at the entrance to Al-Halawa,
Masafer Yatta, occupied West Bank, Jan. 27, 2026 . (Photo: Roni Amir /
+972 Magazine)
 

 

We returned to Al-Fakheit until coordination was eventually secured
with the army’s District Coordination Office, allowing the ambulance
to enter Al-Halawa under escort by the Civil Administration and
police. Only later did we learn what had taken place in Al-Halawa,
where the attack that day had both begun and ended.

A HIGHLY ORCHESTRATED ASSAULT

At around 5:20 p.m., a settler entered Al-Halawa with his livestock
and began roaming near residents’ homes — a common tactic used to
provoke confrontations and seize land. When a young local resident
approached to film the incident, the settler grabbed his phone, struck
his hand, and began calling other settlers.

Soon afterward, a tractor carrying five settlers arrived at the sheep
pen of 73-year-old Hajj Ahmad Abu Aram. Abu Aram stood in front of the
pen, which was secured with a metal chain and padlock. The settlers
demanded that he open it; when he refused, they beat him with sticks
on his legs until he fell to the ground, then continued striking him
before leaving him there, badly injured.

The settlers then moved to a nearby tent housing goats that had
recently given birth and waited there. Four soldiers soon arrived,
whom residents believed from their appearance to be settlers
[[link removed]]
from the area. Additional settlers continued to arrive in pickup
trucks, jeeps, and tractors, alongside more soldiers.

Settlers then attempted to seize Hajj Ahmad Abu Aram’s goats. His
daughter, Widad Abu Aram, 53, tried to stop them. Soldiers restrained
her while settlers beat her, as others proceeded to steal the animals.
Widad chased the settlers for approximately 300 meters in an attempt
to prevent the theft, but they sprayed tear gas into her eyes, causing
her to fall to the ground. The soldiers and settlers then moved on to
a neighboring family. 

Widad returned home and sat with her injured father, attempting to
provide first aid to both of them. About an hour later, five soldiers
entered the house, handcuffed Widad, and arrested her, while settlers
continued stealing livestock from the village and transporting them to
nearby outposts.

At the same time, in another home, a female soldier assaulted Fatima
Abu Aram, 37. Soldiers handcuffed Fatima — who had recently given
birth — and arrested her as settlers stole livestock from the sheep
pen of her father, Fadel Abu Aram.

Elsewhere in the village, Khalil Younis Abu Aram said that soldiers
detained him, his brother, and their sons — seven people in total
— near their home. An armed settler stood alongside the soldiers as
they beat each of them with slaps and kicks to the legs, telling them
the violence was punishment for allegedly assaulting a settler.

Widad and Fatima Abu Aram were released later that night without bail
or conditions, despite Israeli forces accusing them of assaulting
soldiers and publishing a video
[[link removed]] of their arrests. At
11:00 p.m., Hajj Ahmad Abu Aram was finally evacuated to hospital
after remaining in severe pain inside his room for nearly five hours.

In total, dozens of armed settlers stormed Al-Halawa that evening and
remained until nightfall, accompanied by Israeli army forces, police,
and the Civil Administration. During those hours, settlers stole
approximately 300 sheep belonging to 11 families, while soldiers
arrested Widad and Fatima Abu Aram and settlers and soldiers assaulted
men and women throughout the village. 

 
The blood-soaked jacket of Mohammad Abu Sabha, who was attacked near
his home by settlers in Al-Fakheit, Masafer Yatta, occupied West Bank,
Jan. 27, 2026.  (Photo: Roni Amir / +972 Magazine)
 

While unusual in scale and severity, this assault on Masafer Yatta is
not unique. Even on the night preceding the attack, settlers raided
Wadi Al-Rakhim, cutting down approximately 500 olive trees belonging
to the Rumi family and spray-painting slogans describing the act as
“revenge” for Karm Susya — a settler vineyard planted on land
belonging to the Nawajah family. After years of legal proceedings, a
court ruling had ordered the vineyard’s removal on the grounds that
it had been established illegally.

The role of Israeli soldiers in Tuesday night’s highly coordinated
assault was unmistakable. Throughout the evening, they established
flying checkpoints, prevented residents from reaching the villages,
blocked ambulances, and allowed settlers to carry out attacks and
large-scale theft without interference — while arresting Palestinian
victims without cause. In at least one instance, soldiers themselves
took part in the beatings.

In response to +972’s request for comment, an Israeli army
spokesperson said that on Jan. 27 Israeli forces were deployed to the
area of Al-Fakheit and Al-Halawa “following reports of an Israeli
being attacked and frictions.” The army acknowledged that an
ambulance was delayed “for a few minutes,” and said it was
examining claims that soldiers stood by during the theft of livestock.
It added that a female officer was “assaulted by a Palestinian woman
and suffered facial injuries,” and that it is not aware of any
instances in which soldiers participated in violence between Israelis
and Palestinians.

_[BASEL ADRA is an activist, journalist, and photographer from the
village of At-Tuwani in the South Hebron Hills.]_

_IF YOU BELIEVE THESE STORIES ARE IMPORTANT, __BECOME A +972 MEMBER_
[[link removed]]_ TODAY TO MAKE SURE WE CAN
KEEP TELLING THEM._

_For those who care deeply about the people living between the Jordan
River and the Mediterranean Sea, this is your opportunity to move from
despair into action. _

_The effects of Israel’s genocidal assault on Gaza are still being
felt: much of the Strip lies in ruins, millions remain displaced with
nowhere to return to, tens of thousands have been killed, and many
more are believed to be buried beneath the rubble._

_In the West Bank, the Israeli army has displaced tens of thousands of
Palestinians from refugee camps, while state-sponsored settler
violence is wiping rural communities off the map on a weekly basis. At
the same time, Israel’s ever-escalating regional aggression
threatens to drag the entire Middle East into the inferno._

_We are here on the ground — from Gaza to Tel Aviv to Masafer Yatta
— exposing the crimes, reporting the horrors, and amplifying the
voices of those resisting injustice to an audience of millions around
the world. If there was ever a time the world needed +972 Magazine, it
is now._

_As a binational team based in Israel-Palestine, we are best placed to
cover this pivotal moment in a way that no other outlet can — but we
need your help to do it. __JOIN US AS A MEMBER to become part of our
mission, and support independent journalism that really makes a
difference._ [[link removed]]

 

* Masafer Yatta
[[link removed]]
* West Bank
[[link removed]]
* Israeli settlers
[[link removed]]
* Israeli settlements
[[link removed]]
* Settler violence
[[link removed]]
* Israeli soldiers
[[link removed]]
* IDF
[[link removed]]
* Israeli Occupation
[[link removed]]
* Occupied Territories
[[link removed]]
* Palestine
[[link removed]]
* Israel
[[link removed]]
* Palestinians
[[link removed]]
* apartheid
[[link removed]]
* Gaza ceasefire
[[link removed]]
* Benjamin Netanyahu
[[link removed]]
* Israeli right-wing
[[link removed]]

*
[[link removed]]
*
*
[[link removed]]

 

 

 

INTERPRET THE WORLD AND CHANGE IT

 

 

Submit via web
[[link removed]]

Submit via email
Frequently asked questions
[[link removed]]
Manage subscription
[[link removed]]
Visit xxxxxx.org
[[link removed]]

Bluesky [[link removed]]

Facebook [[link removed]]

 




[link removed]

To unsubscribe, click the following link:
[link removed]