West Bank — They left us our houses and took everything else

The occupied West Bank village of al Mughayyir has again been under attack by the army and the settlers.

Non-stop intimidation and harassment from settlers and soldiers

Early in the morning of 20 May, the occupation army blocked the entrance, preventing any movement in and out of the village.

It then attacked the boys’ school with tear gas, which led to several injuries and cases of suffocation among students. This was by no means an isolated incident. Students suffer almost daily as a result of the army’s repeated firing of gas canisters towards the school.

Then the settlers set fire to wheat crops belonging to al Mughayyir resident Saeed Hussein Abu Aliya. People rushed to the scene to help extinguish the blaze.

The occupation’s army stormed the village before sunset. They began firing tear gas, sound bombs, and live ammunition at people’s homes for no reason.

At night, they again set up a checkpoint at the entrance to the village, preventing dozens of vehicles from entering al Mughayyir. Those residents had no option but to sleep in the neighbouring village of Abu Falah, where residents opened their homes to those in need. Soldiers were also on patrol amongst the vehicles inside the village. They ordered civilians not to get out of their vehicles unless they wanted to get shot.

No arrests but plenty of beatings

The Israeli occupation forces later began raiding houses. They assaulted young men and children without any reason, and left a trail of destruction.

Marzouk Abu Naim, head of al Mughayyir Village Council, told the Canary:

No one was arrested. But every young man in every house they stormed received his share of beatings.

One of those targeted was Palestinian activist and medic Mohammed Abu Naim. At around 3am, approximately 20 Israeli occupation soldiers raided his home. One soldier grabbed him from behind while another beat him from the front. While some soldiers ransacked the house, others punched him in the face and whipped him with a belt, causing extensive property damage

The following morning, the army was on patrol to protect an illegal settler who was grazing his sheep in private fields belonging to residents. Crops were set alight in the village, by the army. When residents tried to put the fire out, they were met with live bullets and tear gas fired by the nearby soldiers.

The same situation that is happening in al Mughayyir is now occurring throughout the occupied West Bank. Before 7 October 2023, there was only one settler on al Mughayyir’s land, keeping sheep. He arrived in 2020 and had the protection of the army.

West Bank — The Israeli occupation has stolen 4300 hectares of land and left residents with only 100 hectares

Abu Naim tells us:

Although we made many complaints to try and get him to leave, we didn’t know at the time that this was the start of their project. Now we understand why they were protecting him, and refused to move him. He was brought in by the government to start taking over the area.

There are now nine illegal settler outposts around the village. All the green fields are under Israeli occupation control, and residents are unable to go outside the vicinity of the immediate village. 43,000 dunums of land — the equivalent of 4,300 hectares, have been taken from them, and they have been left with only 1000 dunums.

Abu Naim says: “They have left just our houses and taken everything else.”

Settlers and the occupation’s army have brought nothing but suffering and hardship to the people of al Mughayyir. One day in April 2024, more than 400 settlers, who had come from all over the West Bank, attacked the village. Around 30 homes were set alight, along with cars. The army helped and protected these settlers. The occupation does not allow Palestinians to protect themselves, so when residents attempted to protect their homes and family, they were met with gunfire.

One resident was martyred that day, and 70 were injured. And when the attacks started, they closed all village entrances so people could not come and help. The ambulances were also unable to enter, to help the wounded.

More than 70 residents of al Mughayyir are currently in prison, mainly since 7 October 2023. Most of them, according to Abu Naim, are under the age of 20.

Residents of al Mughayyir can no longer rely on agriculture, as the Israeli occupation has destroyed it

He says:

These young men usually protect their homes while attacks inside the village take place. They also face attacks from settlers around the village, while herding sheep. Settlers and the army work together. They do the same job, the same crime as each other. And so when someone tries to protect his family they arrest him.

Until recently, many residents of al Mughayyir relied on agriculture. They used to get their food and also crops for their animals for the whole year from the fields. But this is no longer possible. The Israeli occupation has destroyed the village agriculture, in a variety of ways.

In August 2025, the military said people posed a danger to settlers who pass along the main road of the village. So they spent two days using bulldozers to uproot 11,000 olive trees, and damage crops. Olive trees are extremely important to Palestinians. They are not only a source of income, but also part of their heritage and connection to the land.

Abu Naim says:

Settlers also harvested everything and took it away to feed their sheep, which are all stolen, by the way. Settlers don’t buy sheep. When they want them, they attack a village or farm, mainly at night, with the help of the military and the police. Palestinians transporting their sheep from one farm to another can also find themselves being stopped by soldiers at a checkpoint. They are then blindfolded, and the settlers come and steal the sheep from inside their vehicle. Two months ago, at our village checkpoint, there was a big truck with more than 30 sheep inside. A settler from the nearest settlement was called and, according to the driver who understood Hebrew, was told to take as many sheep as he wanted. The soldiers told him he could have more sheep than the 11 he had taken, but the settler said he didn’t have the room. All of them are thieves- the army, the police and the settlers.

West Bank — Israeli occupation often steals livestock and money from Palestinians at village checkpoint

At the entrance to the village there is often a checkpoint. Abu Naim accuses all soldiers there of being thieves. He says they stop the drivers and search through their pockets for money. They even know that Thursday is payday. A resident recently had 800 NIS — approximately £200 — stolen from his pocket. So he made an official complaint. When the soldiers at the checkpoint found out about the complaint, they assaulted the man and arrested him.

The Jewish supremacist state of “Israel” is intentionally making life unbearable for Palestinians throughout the occupied territory. The intention is to forcibly displace them from their land, erase all that is Palestinian, and make the land their own. But this will never happen.

Abu Naim tells us:

Although we have lost hope in the international community, we still have hope with God. We pray to our God to finish these thieves and the occupation, who are destroying everything in our lives. The occupation has the aim of getting the 3500 villagers to leave here and to make them think they will have a better life somewhere else. But we don’t pay attention to this. We are going nowhere, and are determined to stay here even if we die in front of their tanks.

Featured image via the author