Settlers drive a Palestinian family off its land in the occupied West Bank

Headlights from departing settler trucks cut across the night as Rezeq Abu Naim and his family abandoned their home on the stony outskirts of Al Mughayir. For two years settlers from a nearby outpost had harried the family with vandalism, threats and beatings, pressing an increasingly aggressive campaign to displace them.

Violence escalated on Saturday when armed men entered the family’s tent, bedding and the cave they were using, beating Abu Naim, his wife, his daughter and his granddaughter. When his son and a 14-year-old nephew rushed to help, both were shot and wounded as gunfire came from both the settlers and Israeli soldiers who arrived soon after.

The attack is part of a wider surge in displacements, violence and killings of Palestinians by settlers across the West Bank since the Hamas-led attack on Israel on Oct. 7, 2023. Critics say Israel’s far-right government has supported settlement expansion and that the military has at times tolerated an unrelenting campaign by settlers.

west bank, settlers, palestinians, displacements, al mughayir, abu naim, far right, israeli soldiers, violence, october 7