World
Police nab 2 suspects in Huwara settler rampage; IDF yet to identify uniformed assailant
Police on Sunday arrested two suspects in a settler rampage that left nine Palestinians injured in Huwara, a town in the northern West Bank, on Saturday.
The suspects are men in their 30s and residents of settlements in the area, police said in a statement. Police believe they are among dozens of settlers who invaded Huwara at around noon, hurling stones at buildings, stealing vehicles and livestock, and beating Palestinian locals.
Footage from the scene showed masked assailants and at least one apparent soldier, seen in full military gear, repeatedly punching one of the Palestinians, though the IDF said Sunday afternoon that it has not identified the man seen in the footage.
According to WAFA, the Palestinian Authority’s official news agency, the wounded include a local councilman injured in the leg by shrapnel, four who were beaten, and four who were tear-gassed by the assailants.
Additional arrests related to the attack are expected, police said.
As for the uniformed assailant, the IDF said Saturday that the apparent soldier seen in the footage would face “appropriate command and disciplinary measures” once he is identified. The army added that the individual’s actions were “serious and inconsistent with the values of the IDF.”
תיעוד מטורף מהיום בחווארה.
חייל תוקף פלסטיניים בצוותא עם מתנחלים בכפר חווארה.
עפ״י הסהר האדום מהמקום פונה פלסטיני עם פגיעת ראש שמצבו מוגדר קשה.
.עשרות מתנחלים רעולי פנים תקפו ארבעה כפרים שונים בסמוך ליצהר החל מהשעה 11:00, תוך שהם מיידים אבנים, מציתים רכוש, תוקפים תושבים… pic.twitter.com/iidq2XpwDH
— Matan Golan (@MatanGolanPhoto) June 6, 2026
The Times of Israel learned Sunday that the military is investigating the possibility that the man seen in army uniform is not a soldier but perhaps a member of a civil defense squad for a nearby settlement. However, this remains unconfirmed until the man is identified.
Initially, the IDF said that soldiers and Border Police officers were dispatched to several sites in the town after receiving reports of “suspected theft of livestock belonging to Israeli civilians,” and to “remove the Israeli civilians and the livestock from the village and prevent confrontations in the area.”
Later, the military said, “several rioters arrived in the area of the village and violent clashes developed, including stone-throwing and the use of clubs between Israeli civilians and Palestinians.”
The IDF said the forces worked to “disperse the gatherings” using riot dispersal means.
יהודים נכנסים לחווארה, יוני 2026 pic.twitter.com/0IFZ5mBCLq
— דורון קדוש | Doron Kadosh (@Doron_Kadosh) June 6, 2026
One of the Palestinians who was beaten sustained head wounds, WAFA said Saturday. Footage published by Palestinian media showed a young man lying on the road and apparently bleeding from the head as a Red Crescent medic attended to him.
According to WAFA, dozens of settlers who attacked Huwara also hurled stones at several buildings, including the municipality building; smashed the windows of multiple vehicles; and stole a car, a bicycle and about 35 sheep.
Security camera footage from Huwara, timestamped to shortly past 11 a.m., showed several hooded figures smashing a parked car. Threads of tzitzit, a Jewish ritual undergarment, can be seen dangling from under some of the attackers’ hoodies.
Additional footage circulated online showed an auto repair shop that was reportedly set ablaze near Huwara.
Breaking | Israeli settlers have set fire to a vehicle repair and bodywork shop near the town of Huwara, south of Nablus. pic.twitter.com/eVcEdZs9pa
— Quds News Network (@QudsNen) June 6, 2026
Separately, WAFA reported that settlers vandalized Palestinian-owned crops in the Masoudiya area, north of the West Bank city of Nablus. Citing Dhiab Hajji, head of the Masoudiya Land Defense Committee, the report said that the settlers had released their livestock among the crops, causing significant damage.
Clashes between settlers and Palestinians in several flashpoints across the West Bank, particularly in villages near Huwara, were also reported on Saturday.
“It’s going to explode here,” a Huwara resident told a Channel 12 reporter on Sunday. “If the moderate leaders in Israel do not find a solution to this issue, then the situation could get even worse.”
לאחר שאנשי החווה הסמוכה טענו כי נגנב להם עדר צאן: עימותים אלימים בין יהודים לפלסטינים בכפרים באזור חווארה, 6 פלסטינים נפצעו קל@Doron_Kadosh pic.twitter.com/EkDGWl191w
— גלצ (@GLZRadio) June 6, 2026
Further footage circulating online showed large groups of religious Jewish men throwing rocks at Palestinian residents.
The police, in a statement, said it had launched an investigation into the settler attack, with officers entering the village later in the day to collect evidence.
The military said it “strongly condemns violence of any kind that harms security in the area and diverts the attention of commanders and soldiers from defense missions and counterterrorism activities,” and the police say it “views such cases of violence and damage [to property] with severity and will continue to act decisively and professionally to locate those involved, investigate them, and bring them to justice accordingly.”
Critics have accused the government and law enforcement of largely turning a blind eye to violent attacks by settler extremists, which have become increasingly deadly in recent years and occur on a near-daily basis. Arrests are rare and prosecutions are even less common.
The military recorded 867 incidents of nationalistic crime and settler violence in 2025, compared to 682 incidents in 2024.
