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See the full story · 1 sourcesExtremist settlers torched Palestinian fields in Turmus Ayya and carried out attacks in two other locations across the West Bank on Monday night, injuring at least two Palestinians, Palestinian media said.
In Turmus Ayya, north of Ramallah, settlers set fire to fields on the outskirts of the Palestinian village, according to the Palestinian Authority’s official Wafa news agency.
Palestinian media also reported that Israeli troops held up an ambulance that was attempting to reach the area. The IDF did not immediately comment on the reports.
Turmus Ayya has been one of the Palestinian villages most frequently targeted by extremist settlers, who have established several illegal outposts nearby. The vast majority of the village’s residents hold American citizenship, and have knocked the US government for not doing enough to protect them from the Israeli attacks, which go largely unpunished.
The alleged arson was one of several attacks reported Monday evening. Wafa said settlers entered Beita, south of Nablus, and hurled stones at residents, injuring two Palestinians.
Separately, armed settlers stopped a Palestinian vehicle on a road south of Bethlehem at gunpoint and pepper-sprayed the passengers, including a young child, according to Arabic media.
???? BREAKING: Israeli settler terrorists are attacking the Palestinian village of Turmus Ayya in the West Bank, setting Palestinian land on fire. pic.twitter.com/evo5fhyanq
— Ihab Hassan (@IhabHassane) August 17, 2026
There has been a dramatic rise in extremist settler violence in the West Bank. Israeli security establishment figures reported by Kan showed 660 serious incidents of Jewish “nationalistic crime” in the West Bank during the first six months of 2026, up from 405 during the same period last year — a 63% increase. Just another horrific day under Israeli settler terrorism in the West Bank.
Israeli settler terrorists pepper-sprayed Palestinian children after stopping their vehicle and pointing weapons at them on Abu Njeim Road, south of Bethlehem. pic.twitter.com/ghMAiYSOFf
Six Palestinians were killed and 140 wounded in settler violence during the first half of the year, compared with no deaths and 82 injuries during the same period in 2025. Attacks targeting Israeli security forces also rose 50%, with 45 incidents recorded. Roughly another 100 incidents were recorded in July, according to the Kan figures. Advertisement Attacks occur on a near-daily basis and largely go unchecked, with prosecutions of Jewish extremists rare and convictions rarer still.
The latest incidents came days after the IDF ordered the evacuation of 15 homes in the northern West Bank village of Qusra, as part of an operation that is purportedly aimed at clearing several Israeli illegal outposts surrounding the town.
But while Palestinians were ordered to leave the area, settlers from the outposts — who have been laying siege to a pair of homes on the outskirts of Qusra since Sunday, cutting their water and electricity lines — remained on site.
It was unclear why the IDF needed to remove Palestinians from their homes in order to clear settlers from the area, but the IDF rescinded the evacuation order shortly after it began making headlines.
Critics have accused the government of turning a blind eye to the violence, while Netanyahu’s government has funneled millions of shekels into illegal outposts where many perpetrators of attacks on Palestinians live.
Far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, who is in charge of the Defense Ministry’s settlement policy, has said the goal of the next Israeli government should be to push Palestinians to emigrate.
In a different incident on Monday, an IDF raid in the northern West Bank village of Qabatiya drew scrutiny after footage showed a Palestinian man who had been interrogated by soldiers with the number 44 written across his forehead. He told Palestinian media that troops had marked others questioned during the raid as well.
He said that during the interrogation, soldiers had warned him not to take part in clashes if settlers entered the village.
After the footage emerged, a military source acknowledged to The Times of Israel that the soldiers involved had acted inappropriately and said steps would be taken to address the incident.
It was not the first time this year that troops had used markers to identify Palestinians. In April, footage showed Palestinian women with numbers written on their hands after the IDF briefly allowed residents to return to the Jenin refugee camp to retrieve belongings.
The army said at the time that troops had been trying to organize residents according to different sections of the camp, but acknowledged that the marking was a case of “poor judgment,” saying proper conduct had been clarified and lessons learned.
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