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 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 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 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 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 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.]
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