Kobar, Occupied West Bank — In the town of Kobar, northwest of Ramallah, a settler known to locals as “Ghazal” has been attacking Palestinian farmers, they allege, part of an ongoing Israeli pogrom in the West Bank targeting Palestinians. Bassema Khader, 63, whose family owns a farm in the al-Daak area, recognised him even when he arrived wearing a mask. He would approach cars, knock on the doors, and demand the keys, claiming he was from the army and saying, ‘I am army’,” she said.
When Khader confronted him as he attempted to steal her sheep, he called for backup. With their help, he took all the sheep and brought them to the settlement,” Khader recounted. For Palestinians, the stakes of this escalating violence are existential.
Mohammad Majdi Abu Makho, a Palestinian from Deir Jarir, northeast of Ramallah, was run over by a settler’s vehicle and pepper-sprayed while praying near his village entrance on December 25, 2025. It truly is everything,” Abu Makho told Al Jazeera. It gives us a sense of belonging.
It is our identity.” Abu Makho said the settler routinely brought sheep to the town’s entrance, prompting residents to try to drive him away. But, he said, the settler would start firing indiscriminately. Abu Makho later pursued the case through the Israeli legal system.
The Israeli military confirmed after the incident that the settler was an army reservist, and said he had also opened fire inside Deir Jarir earlier that day while wearing civilian clothes. His weapon was confiscated and his reserve service suspended while the incidents were investigated. This blurring of lines between civilian settlers and the military can frequently turn deadly.
On April 11, 2026, 23-year-old Ali Majed Hamadneh was killed in Deir Jarir. According to a statement issued that day by the Israeli military, forces were dispatched following reports of Palestinians throwing stones at an Israeli. However, a press release issued by the Israeli human rights organisation B’Tselem on April 13 presented a sharply different account.
Extract — continue reading at the source.
