Two Palestinians were shot dead late on Sunday in the village of Deir Jarir in the occupied West Bank during a raid by Israeli settlers accompanied by soldiers and police, according to Palestinian residents. The victims were identified as Odeh Farajna, 53, and Abdul Adel Rashid Abu Mukh, 26. A third man remains hospitalized with a gunshot wound.
Raids escalate into deadly confrontation
The incident began around 9pm on Sunday when settlers from a nearby outpost arrived in Deir Jarir claiming they were searching for stolen livestock. Israeli soldiers and police soon joined them, protecting the settlers as they attempted to seize sheep by force. When villagers raised the alarm and gathered to resist, soldiers opened fire, killing two men. The raids continued in three successive waves until after 2am, residents said.
Saber Ajaj, a relative of Farajna, said he found him moments after he was shot through the chest. “The moment I put him in the car I knew that he was dead. This shooting was meant to kill,” Ajaj said during a reception after the funeral.
Pattern of violence with impunity
Residents described repeated attacks in which settlers, backed by security forces, enter houses on the village outskirts and steal livestock. “It’s a partnership between the army and the settlers,” said Adel Rashid, father of the younger victim. He said settlers stole 21 of his sheep on Sunday, while another villager lost 50. Video of the incident showed a settler protected by four IDF soldiers leading a sheep out of a house.
The killing is part of a broader escalation in settler violence since the Hamas attacks on 7 October 2023. A Guardian analysis found that Israel has not prosecuted any of its citizens for killing Palestinian civilians in the occupied West Bank since the start of this decade, creating a climate of impunity.
Seven killed in Deir Jarir since October 7
Seven people from Deir Jarir have been killed since 7 October 2023. Their portraits are spray-painted on village walls with dates of death. “The killing in Deir Jarir is one example of how Israel promotes ethnic cleansing in the West Bank: settlers invade and steal, while the military and police accompany them and shoot Palestinians who try to protect their homes,” said Yuli Novak, executive director of B’Tselem, an Israeli human rights group.
The Israeli military said they went to Deir Jarir to escort settlers who claimed their livestock had been stolen. They said they opened fire after Palestinians threw rocks and concrete blocks at security forces, but did not explain why non-lethal crowd control was not used. Village council member Iyad Odah responded: “They are the real terrorists.”
Checkpoints and land grab intensify
Since 7 October, arbitrary checkpoints have effectively cut off Deir Jarir from the outside world. Villagers say farmland once covering thousands of hectares is now inaccessible as settlers prevent them from reaching orchards and grazing land. On the hill above the village, a settlement built last year shares water infrastructure with an Israeli military base, according to Dror Etkes of Kerem Navot, an organization monitoring Israeli land policy.
Nearly a thousand mourners gathered in Deir Jarir on Monday for the burial, marching from the mosque to the old graveyard. The funerals highlight the ongoing toll of settler violence, which has intensified as the Israeli government endorses new settlements in the West Bank ahead of national elections.
