By Bassam Abu Al-Rob
NABLUS, June 7, 2026 (WAFA) — What began as an ordinary Saturday morning in the southern outskirts of Nablus quickly turned into a scene of violence and chaos for residents of Huwara, after dozens of Israeli settlers stormed the area, attacking civilians, stealing livestock, and damaging property in a coordinated and sudden raid.
At around 11 a.m. on Saturday, local resident Bassam Sheikh, who runs a vehicle body and paint workshop in Huwara, noticed unusual movement as groups of masked settlers arrived in four-wheel-drive vehicles, many carrying rifles, clubs, and metal rods. Within moments, he said, they were driving herds of sheep through the area.
“We were shocked by their sudden presence. They were organized, moving quickly, and stealing dozens of sheep,” Sheikh recalled. Fearing for their safety, he and others took shelter inside his garage along with his son and neighbors.
But the relative calm did not last. According to Sheikh, the attackers soon returned, shouting and launching a violent assault on those inside. His son and a neighbor were both injured, suffering fractures after being beaten while trying to shield themselves.
Moments later, Sheikh said, one of the settlers fired live rounds inside the garage. The group then took cover behind vehicles in an attempt to avoid gunfire. “They came with the intention to kill,” he said. “We no longer feel safe even in our workplaces.”
The violence escalated as settlers blocked access roads, preventing residents from calling for help or receiving assistance for more than half an hour. During the attack, they smashed the windows of four vehicles, stole two cars, and looted tools and a bicycle from inside the workshop before fleeing the area.
As they withdrew toward a nearby outpost south of the village, the attackers continued assaulting two young men in the vicinity, leaving one with serious facial injuries, including fractures to the nose and skull.
Local authorities in Huwara said emergency teams treated around 10 injuries caused by both gunfire and physical assault during the raid on the southern part of the town.
Rana Abu Haniya, spokesperson for the municipality, said municipal staff observed settler movements around the same time near the home of another resident, Saeed Ahmed Odeh. She confirmed that sheep were stolen from one property while other groups targeted additional homes and infrastructure.
She added that the attack on Sheikh’s garage involved gunfire, extensive property damage, and the theft of multiple vehicles and equipment, describing it as part of a wider pattern of repeated assaults on the community.
The incident comes amid a continuing rise in reported settler violence. The Palestinian Wall and Settlement Resistance Commission documented 1,659 attacks during May alone, carried out by both settlers and Israeli forces across the occupied territory.
According to the commission, these incidents have concentrated heavily in areas including Nablus, Hebron, and Ramallah, reflecting an intensifying and systematic pattern of attacks on Palestinian communities and property.
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