Children hospitalised, livestock killed in Israeli settler attack

Israeli colonial settlers in the occupied West Bank have violently attacked the Al-Daghamin family, for the second time, near as-Samu, South of Hebron. This is the second violent attack on the Al-Daghamin family in less than two months. The attackers are settlers from Susya, 500 metres from where they live.

Settler violence shows no regard for age

In the latest attack, settlers brazenly entered the Al-Daghamin home. They smashed down the door and windows, and hurtled inside tear gas canisters. Two children and a six month old baby were hospitalised as a result of exposure to tear gas. The settlers murdered three sheep, and four others sustained life threatening injuries.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Andrey X (@the.andrey.x)

In November, settlers fired pepper spray inside the Al-Daghamin household, once again hospitalising minors from the family. They also viciously killed 10 sheep, destroyed the family car destroyed, and set fire to their property.

Mahmoud Al-Daghamin, who previously spoke with the Canary, told us his family is being terrorised by violent settlers almost daily. Settler violence against them has escalated, leaving his family in constant fear of their lives, especially his four children, too afraid to sleep at night. After losing much of his livestock, Mahmoud’s only source of income, the family is struggling to make ends meet.

Settlers: beyond impunity

These colonial settlers, who carry out attacks in the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem, are armed by the ‘Israeli’ government. They are protected by the Israeli occupation forces (IOF), who often dress in civilian clothes and participate in these terrorist attacks against Palestinians and their property and, increasingly, against international peace activists. The Israeli occupation is failing to hold settlers and the IOF to account for their crimes including even fatal attacks, and enjoy complete impunity.

Violent attacks by these illegal settlers has surged to record levels since October 7, 2023. At the start of December 2025, OCHA had already documented 1,680 — the equivalent of five attacks every day. They happened across more than 270 communities in the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem.

Nearly 180 incidents were documented in October and November alone, during the first two months of the olive harvest, impacting 88 communities.

Illegal settlers: an arm of the ‘Israeli’ state

These settler attacks reinforce Israeli occupation control over Palestinian territory. They terrorise families to the point that some flee in search of safety, and are the executioners of Israeli’s ethnic cleansing campaign against Palestinians and the annexation of the West Bank.

In the past three years, 33 Palestinian neighbourhoods have been completely emptied of their residents, and more than 85 Palestinian communities have been displaced in the West Bank due to settler violence and restricted mobility.

All Jewish settlements — including the one next to Al-Daghamin’s home — are illegal under international law. The International Court of Justice (ICJ) ruled in July 2024 that Israel’s occupation violates the Fourth Geneva Convention. Furthermore, it called for the dismantlement of settlements, cessation of expansion, and an end to the unlawful occupation. Yet, this bugle has been sounded for years without effecting any real change. How bad must things get for the world to act?

Settlements are illegal…only Israel disagrees

Israel, like any committed colonial settler state, has defended its actions and illegal presence across Occupied Palestinian Territories. ‘Israel’s’ far right finance minister Bezalel Smotrich, once claimed there is “no such thing” as a Palestinian people. He also recently announced the ‘legalisation’ of eight settler outposts. All of these, as we’ve established, are deemed illegal under international law. Smotrich also claimed 11 new settlements will be established in the occupied West Bank. He has confirmed this move is aimed at preventing a Palestinian state from being established.

Featured image courtesy of Al-Daghamin family