March 29, 2025
Nader Durgham and Alex MacDonald
Nader Durgham and Alex MacDonald
The West Bank community spotlighted in an Oscar-winning documentary has been attacked by settlers and soldiers
The aftermath of settler attacks on Palestinian residences in Masafer Yatta in the occupied West Bank (Supplied)
Israeli settlers have raided a village in the West Bank community of Masafer Yatta, following days of settler attacks on Palestinian communities.
Five Palestinians have been injured so far in what has been reported as a major destruction of property.
According to local Palestinian activists, settlers arrived accompanied by Israeli soldiers and deliberately damaged security cameras.
Locals were arrested, vehicles were damaged and the gates to animal pens were breached, allowing sheep to escape.
The attack follows another major one on Friday, during which settlers beat Palestinians with iron bars, resulting in at least two major head injuries.
Israeli forces arrested 22 Palestinians - but no settlers.
Allegra Pacheco of the UK charity West Bank Protection Consortium said that of the 195 communities the organisation assists in the West Bank, 38 have been "partially to fully forcibly transferred" since October.
"We estimate 58,000 Palestinians in [the 195] communities are at risk, and the majority are at imminent risk of forcible transfer," she told Middle East Eye.
The attacks in Masafer Yatta come after Palestinian director and Academy Award-winner Hamdan Ballal was violently attacked by what his colleague described as a "lynch mob" of Israeli settlers on Monday night in the Palestinian village of Susya, south of Hebron.
Ballal, who directed the Oscar-winning documentary No Other Land about the struggle of the people of Masafer Yatta, was later taken to a military base and held in custody for one night before being released.
This week, 700 members of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences signed a letter criticising the organisation for its failure to defend Ballal by name in its response to the arrest.
On Friday, the Academy apologised to Ballal "and all artists who felt unsupported by our previous statement and want to make it clear that the Academy condemns violence of this kind anywhere in the world".
Israeli settler attacks on Palestinians and their homes and farms are common.
The attacks are often violent - sometimes deadly - and can involve the torching of property and livestock, as well as the physical assault of residents.
The United Nations humanitarian agency, OCHA, has documented at least 220 attacks by Israeli settlers on Palestinians in 2025 alone.
Former US President Joe Biden sanctioned a number of Israeli settlers for carrying out such attacks. Those sanctions have since been lifted by President Donald Trump.
Basel Adra, a resident of Masafer Yatta who was one of the central figures in No Other Land, told MEE in November that the attacks on his home and other Palestinian communities had become increasingly common – with no accountability for the attackers.
"And for the past year, watching a live genocide on our phones with all the videos coming from Gaza and the West Bank... the facts on the ground are moving to be worse and worse," he said.
"And the Israelis don't care about international pressure, international law because, unfortunately, the US is backing them."
Five Palestinians have been injured so far in what has been reported as a major destruction of property.
According to local Palestinian activists, settlers arrived accompanied by Israeli soldiers and deliberately damaged security cameras.
Locals were arrested, vehicles were damaged and the gates to animal pens were breached, allowing sheep to escape.
The attack follows another major one on Friday, during which settlers beat Palestinians with iron bars, resulting in at least two major head injuries.
Israeli forces arrested 22 Palestinians - but no settlers.
Allegra Pacheco of the UK charity West Bank Protection Consortium said that of the 195 communities the organisation assists in the West Bank, 38 have been "partially to fully forcibly transferred" since October.
"We estimate 58,000 Palestinians in [the 195] communities are at risk, and the majority are at imminent risk of forcible transfer," she told Middle East Eye.
The attacks in Masafer Yatta come after Palestinian director and Academy Award-winner Hamdan Ballal was violently attacked by what his colleague described as a "lynch mob" of Israeli settlers on Monday night in the Palestinian village of Susya, south of Hebron.
Ballal, who directed the Oscar-winning documentary No Other Land about the struggle of the people of Masafer Yatta, was later taken to a military base and held in custody for one night before being released.
This week, 700 members of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences signed a letter criticising the organisation for its failure to defend Ballal by name in its response to the arrest.
On Friday, the Academy apologised to Ballal "and all artists who felt unsupported by our previous statement and want to make it clear that the Academy condemns violence of this kind anywhere in the world".
Israeli settler attacks on Palestinians and their homes and farms are common.
The attacks are often violent - sometimes deadly - and can involve the torching of property and livestock, as well as the physical assault of residents.
The United Nations humanitarian agency, OCHA, has documented at least 220 attacks by Israeli settlers on Palestinians in 2025 alone.
Former US President Joe Biden sanctioned a number of Israeli settlers for carrying out such attacks. Those sanctions have since been lifted by President Donald Trump.
Basel Adra, a resident of Masafer Yatta who was one of the central figures in No Other Land, told MEE in November that the attacks on his home and other Palestinian communities had become increasingly common – with no accountability for the attackers.
"And for the past year, watching a live genocide on our phones with all the videos coming from Gaza and the West Bank... the facts on the ground are moving to be worse and worse," he said.
"And the Israelis don't care about international pressure, international law because, unfortunately, the US is backing them."
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