Elderly Deaf Man Viciously Beaten in Settler Assault
A 67-year-old deaf Palestinian man has been hospitalised with serious injuries after a violent attack by a group of masked Israeli settlers in the occupied West Bank. The incident, captured on video, occurred on January 11, 2026, near the plant nursery in Deir Sharaf where the victim, Basim Saleh Yassin, worked.
Witnesses report that the settlers first attacked Mr Yassin's coworkers before turning on him. Due to his deafness, Mr Yassin was unable to hear their warnings to leave the area. Disturbing footage shows the elderly man attempting to flee as the assailants beat him with a stick and kicked him repeatedly.
Aftermath and Broader Context of Violence
The assault left Mr Yassin with multiple broken bones in his hand and significant injuries to his chest, back, and face. In addition to the attack on individuals, the settlers set fire to four vehicles parked at the nursery. This event is part of a wider pattern of violence in the West Bank, a territory where, despite nominal Palestinian governance, Israel maintains control over much of the land through military checkpoints and segregated roads.
The Palestinian Authority administers only about 17% of the West Bank, though this area contains the majority of the Palestinian population. Meanwhile, Israeli settlements, considered illegal under international law, continue to expand, fragmenting Palestinian communities. The current Israeli government, led by Benjamin Netanyahu, provides backing and military protection for these settlements.
UK Sanctions and Settler Ambitions
Among those linked to the settler movement is Daniella Weiss, often called the 'godmother' of the movement. The UK government has sanctioned Weiss, describing her as a 'high-profile extremist settler'. She is now subject to an asset freeze, travel ban, and director disqualification for inciting and carrying out violence against Palestinians.
Weiss is the founder of the radical organisation Nachala and a former mayor of the Kedumim settlement. For over five decades, she has been instrumental in establishing illegal settlements on land captured by Israel in 1967. Nachala's stated ambition is for Israel to annex both the Gaza Strip and the West Bank. Weiss has also expressed beliefs that parts of Lebanon, Jordan, Syria, Saudi Arabia, and Iraq constitute Greater Israel.
Any future peace agreement would likely necessitate the removal of approximately 500,000 Israeli settlers from the West Bank, a move comparable to Israel's 2005 withdrawal from Gaza. The ongoing violence and settlement expansion present significant obstacles to a two-state solution and regional stability.
