At least four Palestinians, one of them in critical condition, were injured this Friday in an assault carried out by Israeli settlers in the town of Deir Abu Mashal, located northeast of Ramallah, in the West Bank, after they attempted to dismantle an illegal settlement erected by these settlers.
The head of the village council, Yamil Musa, detailed that "the settlers attacked a group of citizens in the mountainous area of Qarana," south of the town, "with knives and other sharp instruments," according to statements collected by the official Palestinian news agency Wafa.
According to this information, the Israeli Army allegedly entered the town with the aim of preventing residents from reaching the Qarana hill to demonstrate against the settlement, assuring residents that it would be dismantled.
According to the account of local authorities, the group of settlers allegedly accessed the hill early in the morning and allegedly established the settlement despite Israeli forces having denied them permission through a court order issued a few days ago.
United Nations warns of the surge in settler violence
This Friday, the United Nations warned that violence by Israeli settlers in the West Bank has reached unprecedented levels in 2026, with more than 1,000 attacks causing casualties or property damage so far this year, affecting more than 230 communities and causing the displacement of more than 2,000 Palestinians.
The Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) indicated that more than 2,200 Palestinians have been forced to leave their homes in 2026 as a direct consequence of settler aggressions and other access restrictions, in addition to several hundred additional displaced persons due to demolitions carried out by Israeli authorities.
"The current pace of settler attacks causing casualties or property damage, an average of six incidents per day, is higher than in any recorded year," OCHA stressed, adding that humanitarian partners continue to work to provide support to the most vulnerable population, particularly in Area C, East Jerusalem, and "other areas where Palestinian authorities do not have permission to provide services."