An Israeli soldier shot and wounded a Palestinian man in the leg during a confrontation between settlers and villagers in the town of Faqqua in the occupied West Bank. The settlers had brought livestock onto Palestinian-owned land, and residents tried to stop them. Israeli forces then stepped in and, according to witnesses, opened fire on the residents. One soldier shot Qassem Hussam, a Palestinian man in his mid-30s, hitting him in the leg.
The IDF confirmed to the Guardian that it had received a report of the incident and that the shooter was one of its soldiers. “Earlier today [Saturday], a report was received regarding friction between Israeli civilians and Palestinians near the area of Faqqua,” the IDF said. “An IDF force that was at the scene fired into the air and toward a Palestinian.”
Mohammed al-Sheikh, 34, who was standing next to Hussam, told the Guardian the confrontation began when villagers found Israeli settlers grazing livestock on Palestinian-owned land. “Then the Israeli soldiers came,” al-Sheikh said. “They started shooting. One soldier shot Hussam and he fell to the ground. We immediately went to help him and move him away. We couldn’t get an ambulance to the area, so we took him to hospital in a private car.”
Hussam was taken to hospital in light-to-moderate condition, according to the Palestine Red Crescent.
The Israeli military said commanders were reviewing the incident and that its findings would be passed to the relevant authorities. The IDF added that it was investigating the soldier who shot the Palestinian man, apparently in breach of army protocol, according to the Times of Israel.
Video of the incident shows a group of Israeli soldiers and settlers confronting unarmed Palestinian men before shots are fired.
The incident is the latest to raise questions about whether the Israeli government is able or willing to curb violent settlers in the occupied West Bank, where attacks have continued to rise.
On 8 September, the UK prime minister, Andy Burnham, said he would “not stand by” as horrific suffering continued, writing in the Guardian that for too long the UK had been hesitant to act, “fearful of being accused of being anti-Israel”.
Ed Miliband, the UK’s foreign secretary, said the government would now take the official position that Israel’s occupation of the West Bank was unlawful in its entirety, and announced sweeping sanctions on trade with Israeli settlements.
The dramatic shift in the UK’s position came after a summer of intense diplomacy against a backdrop of rising settler violence in the West Bank, which led 12 countries, including France and Canada, to announce sanctions.
After Miliband described violent Jewish settler activity in the occupied West Bank as “ethnic cleansing” carried out with the tacit backing of the government of the Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, Israel’s foreign minister, Gideon Sa’ar, announced retaliatory measures including the closure of the consulate and entry bans on several MPs.
It marked the latest stage in a rapidly worsening dispute between the two countries, with diplomatic relations at their lowest point in years, even as violence in the West Bank has continued.
Israeli forces also carried out raids across Jenin governorate on Saturday, arresting six people and injuring a 14-year-old boy, who suffered a broken hand, according to the Palestinian news agency Wafa. Soldiers also raided several villages around Jenin, while forces entered at least five towns in Bethlehem governorate and set up a checkpoint at Za’atara.
East of Ramallah, Israeli settlers attacked the outskirts of Burqa, throwing stones at homes and vehicles.
On 4 September, two Palestinian teenagers were shot dead in al-Mughayyir after settlers entered the village under police and military escort and took dozens of sheep from a Palestinian home, residentIsraeli and Palestinian activists said the victims were Khalil Abu Alia, 16, and Omar al-Nassan, 19. Three other students from their school of 470 had already been killed by Israeli soldiers and settlers this year. According to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), more than 1,111 Palestinians, including at least 243 children, have been killed in the occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, since 7 October 2023.
Frequently Asked Questions
FAQs IDF Soldier Filmed Shooting a Palestinian in the Leg During a West Bank Standoff
The Basics
What actually happened in this incident
Video circulated showing an IDF soldier shooting a Palestinian man in the leg during a confrontation in the West Bank The shooting occurred amid a standoff that reportedly involved Israeli settlers The exact sequence of events is disputed and is under investigation
Where did this happen
In the West Bank the territory captured by Israel in 1967 where roughly 3 million Palestinians and about 500000 Israeli settlers live under overlapping systems of Israeli military and civil law
Who was involved
An IDF soldier a Palestinian man and Israeli settlers who were reportedly present during the standoff
When did it happen
Viral incidents like this have occurred multiple times in recent years The specific date depends on which video youre referring to check the original footages timestamp and news coverage for the exact incident
Was the Palestinian armed
In many similar cases the Palestinian was not armed or was not posing an imminent threat at the moment of shooting Thats a central question investigators look at and its often disputed
Definitions and Context
What is the IDF
The Israel Defense Forces Israels military which enforces security in the West Bank including policing duties over Palestinians there
What does standoff mean here
A tense facetoface confrontation where groups soldiers settlers andor Palestinians are positioned against each other often with shouting stonethrowing or threats but not fullscale fighting
Who are the settlers
Israeli civilians living in communities built in the West Bank which most of the international community considers illegal under international law Israel disputes this characterization
What is the legal status of the West Bank
Its occupied territory under international law governed partly by Israeli military law and partly by Israeli civilian law This dual system is a major source of tension
What do openfire regulations mean
The IDFs rules for when soldiers may use live fire They generally permit shooting only when theres a real immediate danger to life not for crowd control or property protection
Why It Matters
Why do these videos get so much attention
Theyre visual evidence in a conflict where accounts often differ sharply A
