Illegal Israeli settlers doused a 92-year-old Palestinian man with gasoline and torched property during attacks on West Bank towns, amid a wider surge in settler violence [Getty]
Settler violence in the occupied West Bank reached a new level on Sunday when a 92-year-old Palestinian man was doused with gasoline during an attack on the town of Deir Dibwan, where illegal Israeli settlers also torched vehicles and property during a violent rampage.
Yaser Saeed said he was preparing to leave the local mosque after evening prayers when settlers sprayed gasoline through a window, covering the right side of his body, including his face and eyes.
Speaking to local media in Deir Dibwan, Saeed said he looked through the mosque window after hearing loud noises outside and saw settlers gathered nearby. He said they then threw gasoline at the window, spraying him in the process.
The elderly man said he was forced to step back to avoid being set alight during the attack.
The incident comes amid a sharp escalation in settler attacks across the occupied West Bank, as calls from Israeli politicians for annexation have grown louder and violence against Palestinian communities has intensified.
“The large-scale settler attacks in the town of Deir Dibwan are part of an official campaign of violence sponsored and enabled by the Israeli government, and are being used to impose new realities on the ground aimed at forcibly displacing Palestinians, seizing their land, and establishing settlement outposts as part of a broader effort to consolidate the de facto annexation of the West Bank,” Ramy Abdu, the chairman of the Euro-Med Human Rights Monitor, told The New Arab.
Abdu accused Israeli authorities and forces of facilitating these attacks through “financial and military support, the arming of settler militia groups, and maintenance of a climate of impunity reinforced by judicial and security institutions” amid increased calls and moves to annex the West Bank, forcibly displace Palestinians from their homes, and make way for more settlements, which are illegal under international law.
According to rights groups, more than 96% of investigations into incidents in the occupied West Bank have been closed without indictment since 2020.
“The forced displacement of Palestinians in the West Bank, occurring alongside the mass displacement of Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, appears to be part of a systematic Israeli policy of large-scale forcible transfer throughout the occupied Palestinian territory, aimed at achieving permanent demographic change and ethnic cleansing,” Abdu added.
A group of settlers entered Deir Dibwan, east of Ramallah, through the Al-Marah area near the town’s western entrance before carrying out a series of attacks on Palestinian property, Palestinian media reported.
Several vehicles were set on fire, with two cars completely destroyed and another two sustaining extensive damage.
Videos shared by Palestinian media outlets and social media users showed large areas of land burning and vehicles engulfed in flames. One of the torched cars could be seen parked outside a mosque in Deir Dibwan.
Other footage showed smoke billowing across the town as sirens sounded and residents rushed to respond to the attacks.
Attacks spread to nearby towns
In the nearby town of Burqa, northwest of Nablus, settlers carried out similar attacks, according to Palestinian reports.
Witnesses said masked settlers, operating under the protection of Israeli forces, damaged the doors of the Al-Nour Mosque and set its entrance alight.
They also burned agricultural fields and damaged the Al-Maswadeh archaeological site.
At least one Palestinian was injured during the attacks.
The incidents come amid a broader escalation of Israeli military raids and settler-led assaults across the occupied West Bank, alongside Israel’s military campaigns in Gaza, Lebanon and Iran.
Attacks by Israeli settlers have increased sharply since Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu returned to power in late 2022 at the head of Israel’s most right-wing government to date, which includes prominent settlement advocates and far-right ministers Itamar Ben-Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich.
According to figures provided to The New Arab by Euro-Med Monitor, Israeli settlers have killed at least 16 Palestinians since the beginning of this year, accounting for more than 26 percent of all Palestinians killed by Israeli fire in the occupied territory.
The figure has already surpassed the total number of Palestinians killed by settlers during the whole of 2025.
Since the start of the Gaza war in October 2023, Israeli soldiers and settlers have killed 1,244 Palestinians in the occupied West Bank, including 268 children.
“In light of these developments, there is an urgent need for genuine accountability mechanisms capable of compelling Israel to fulfill its obligations as an occupying power,” Abdu stressed. “It is also essential to recall the Advisory Opinion issued by the International Court of Justice in July 2024, which concluded that Israel’s continued occupation of the Palestinian territory occupied since 1967 is unlawful and requires Israel to end its illegal presence without delay, including by dismantling settlements and evacuating settlers,”
