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Photo:
Scene in Bruqin. Published by Palestine Centre for Human Rights (PCHR)
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Report by The Palestinian Center For Human Rights:

For the past ten days, the Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) have imposed a tight siege and collective punishment on Bruqin village, west of Salfit in the northern West Bank, where IOF, in coordination with armed settlers, have committed crimes, collective punitive measures and widespread violations against Palestinian civilians following the killing of a female settler on a nearby main road.

The most recent of these crimes occurred at approximately 22:00 on Thursday, 23 May 2025, when Israeli settlers attacked Palestinians’ houses in al-Buq’an area in the outskirts of Bruqin village and set fire to houses and vehicles. As several houses caught fire, residents barely managed to flee with their children.

Meanwhile, the IOF intervened to protect the settlers and fired stun grenades and teargas canisters at Palestinians, who tried to confront the settlers and extinguish the flames. The Palestinian Red Crescent Society (PRCS) later reported that its staff treated 8 cases sustaining burns after the settlers set Palestinians’ houses and their property ablaze.

Additionally, two people were injured by stones thrown by settlers and six vehicles sustained damage, while many Palestinian houses and properties caught fire before civil defense crews managed to extinguish the flames.

Some villagers informed the Palestinian Centre for Human Rights’ (PCHR) researcher in a phone call that settlers, divided into three groups, attacked Palestinians’ houses and vehicles and set them, along with agricultural lands, on fire. Additionally, the IOF obstructed the villagers’ attempts to extinguish the flames or confront the settlers. These attacks resulted in injuries to several villagers and the burning of at least six houses.

This widescale assault is part of a series of attacks carried out by IOF over the past nine days in the village, shortly followed by settlers establishing a new outpost on the village’s lands.

According to our researchers’ field documentation, at around 22:00 on Wednesday, 14 May 2025, the IOF, accompanied by many military vehicles, moved into Bruqin village following the announcement of the killing of a female settler and the injury of her husband in a shooting attack on the main road leading to Bruqin and Kafr ad-Dik villages, west of Salfit.

During their incursion into the village, the IOF raided and searched the village’s houses and assaulted and maltreated their residents. The IOF also turned some of Palestinians’ houses into military barracks and designated one as an interrogation center, where most of the villagers were summoned for interrogation.

On Thursday morning, 15 May 2025, the IOF informed residents of Bruqin village that 2,323 dunums of land in the al-Balata area would be razed and seized, along with an additional 13 dunums in the al-Fakhakhir and al-Shayyab areas near the main road.

The IOF also brought in approximately 20 bulldozers that began land-razing the area. In the evening, a group of Israeli settlers arrived, set up a huge tent on the razed lands, and raised Israeli flags declaring the establishment of “a new settlement outpost in the area”. The next day, more Israeli settlers arrived and set up two additional tents on the lands.

On the morning of Saturday, 17 May 2025, the IOF declared that they killed Nael Samara after arresting him earlier that day. They claimed he was the perpetrator of the shooting attack on the settlers.

Over the past days, the IOF maintained their siege on the village by closing its entrances, restricting its residents’ movement, shutting down the main bakery, closing all shops, and carrying out repeated raids on houses. On Monday, 19 May 2025, the IOF demolished a 3-storey house after forcibly evacuating its residents. They also took measurements of Nael Samara’s house in a prelude to demolish it.

Rakiz ‘Abed al-Rahman Khatir, a resident of Bruqin village, said to PCHR’s researcher that:

“In the evening of 14 May 2025, Israeli settlers attacked my brothers’ houses, established a new settlement outpost, seized around three dunums of their land, and threatened to burn my brother alive. On 22 May 2025, while I was driving, I was suddenly surrounded by around 30 settlers who attacked my vehicle with stones and smashed its windows with their fists. The shattered glass injured my eye, and one of them struck me on the head with a stone, leaving me unable to see. I started moving the vehicle forward and backward to disperse them until I was finally able to escape. The IOF were only about 100 meters away and witnessed the incident. Fortunately, I managed to reach a nearby ambulance. Moreover, the settlers carried out largescale attacks in the village, including setting fire to houses and vehicles.”

It is worth noting that our researchers have been unable to obtain sufficient information from Bruqin village due to the ongoing siege imposed by the IOF, who continue to close the village’s entrances and carry out repeated raids. However, PCHR’s staff managed to contact several villagers by phone to gather preliminary information about the IOF and settlers’ escalating crimes and violations committed in the village.

PCHR condemns settlers’ violence and emphasizes that most of such attacks are carried out under the protection of IOF, who intervene to secure the settlers during their assaults and until their withdrawal. Meanwhile, the IOF suppress Palestinians who attempt to defend themselves and often refuse to accept complaints or conduct serious investigations into these attacks.

PCHR also condemns the fait accompli imposed by Israel through settlement expansion, land confiscation, house demolitions, and the forced displacement of Palestinians, all of which constitute war crimes under international law.

PCHR recalls that the International Court of Justice (ICJ) issued a ruling in July 2024 affirming the illegality of Israel’s occupation of the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, including occupied East Jerusalem. The ruling obliges Israel to end its illegal presence as soon as possible, immediately halt its settlement activities, and evacuate all settlers from the occupied Palestinian territory (oPt).

Therefore, PCHR calls on the international community and UN bodies to abide by the ICJ’s ruling, fulfill their legal and moral responsibilities, and take effective action to stop the IOF and settlers’ crimes committed against Palestinians, as well as providing protection for them. It also calls on the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC) to issue new arrest warrants for all those involved in settlement crimes, including Israeli political and military leaders.