Residents of Susiya, a Palestinian village in the occupied West Bank near Hebron, reported that masked men set fire to vehicles and tents on Tuesday night, in what locals described as the latest episode of settler violence in the area.
Video footage examined by reporters shows a group of masked individuals approaching the village and later burning vehicles and other Palestinian property. Villagers identified the men as Israeli settlers.
"They attack us almost every day, repeatedly, because we live near the main road...Last night they burned everywhere," said Halima Abu Eid, a resident of Susiya, speaking on Wednesday.
Israel's military said it dispatched soldiers to respond to reports of "deliberate burnings of Palestinian property" and that it had opened an investigation into the incident.
Context and recent trends
Violence by Israeli settlers against Palestinians in the West Bank has increased sharply since the beginning of the war in Gaza in October 2023. United Nations figures cited in reports indicate that more than 800 Palestinians were displaced by settler attacks in 2026.
Attacks in which masked settlers arrive at night to destroy Palestinian property or assault residents have become increasingly common, according to the accounts and documentation referenced in recent reporting. These actions are described as part of efforts by some settlers to gain control over extensive areas of land in the West Bank.
While an Israeli official has previously characterized settler violence as the work of a "fringe minority," other reporting has highlighted organized plans circulating on public settler social media channels that aim to appropriate Palestinian land.
The United Nations recorded at least 86 incidents of settler violence between February 3 and February 16, resulting in the displacement of 146 Palestinians and injuries to 64 people during that span.
Prosecutions of settlers for violence are infrequent. An Israeli monitoring group, Yesh Din, reported that by the end of 2025 only 2% of the hundreds of cases it had documented since October 7, 2023, had resulted in indictments.
Israel's current far-right governing coalition is noted in reporting for having facilitated a rapid expansion of settlements. Some ministers in that coalition have been quoted as saying they want to "bury" a Palestinian state. Most world powers consider Israeli settlements on land captured in the 1967 war to be illegal and multiple United Nations Security Council resolutions have called on Israel to halt settlement activity. Israel disputes the characterization of its settlements as unlawful, citing historical and biblical ties to the territory.
Key points
- Masked men identified by residents as Israeli settlers reportedly set fire to vehicles and tents in Susiya, near Hebron. (Sectors affected: local property markets, agriculture, tourism)
- The Israeli military said it dispatched soldiers and opened an investigation into reported deliberate burnings. (Sectors affected: security services, insurance)
- UN and monitoring-group data show a sharp rise in settler violence and displacement since October 2023, with hundreds displaced in 2026. (Sectors affected: humanitarian aid, local economies)
Risks and uncertainties
- Escalation of settler attacks could lead to further displacement and damage to local livelihoods, heightening humanitarian and economic pressures in affected communities. (Impacted sectors: agriculture, local commerce)
- Low rates of prosecution for settler violence create uncertainty about deterrence and rule-of-law outcomes, which may influence security and investor perceptions in the region. (Impacted sectors: insurance, security, real estate)
- Political backing for settlement expansion by elements of the governing coalition increases uncertainty over future land control and regional stability, with implications for diplomatic relations and long-term economic planning. (Impacted sectors: infrastructure, international aid)
Accounts from residents, documentation from the United Nations, and findings from monitoring groups together portray a pattern of increasing settler violence and its humanitarian consequences in parts of the occupied West Bank. The incident in Susiya adds to a series of reported attacks that have compounded displacement and injury among Palestinian communities.