A young Palestinian man sustained fractures in both legs on Friday after being deliberately run over by an Israeli settler during a settler incursion into the eastern part of Nablus city in the occupied northern West Bank. The incident adds to a growing pattern of violent settler assaults against Palestinians in the West Bank.
Local sources reported that a group of settlers stormed the eastern part of Nablus in their vehicles. One settler ran over the young man while he was walking along Amman Street, causing fractures in his legs. He was subsequently transferred to hospital for treatment.
Eyewitnesses stated that two settler vehicles attempted to penetrate the city en route to the site known as “Joseph’s Tomb”. One of the vehicles overturned during their escape, while the settlers fled the area on foot.
The Israeli occupation military later acknowledged that settlers had entered Nablus overnight and run over a Palestinian. The army claimed in a statement that some of the settlers had been arrested and handed over to Israeli occupation police.
Incursions into “Joseph’s Tomb” are a recurring event in Nablus. The site lies on the eastern edge of the city, within an area under Palestinian Authority control, yet such incursions are often conducted under direct protection from Israeli occupation forces, frequently resulting in confrontations and attacks on Palestinian residents.
While many Jews regard the site as a religious shrine dating back to the Israeli occupation of the West Bank in 1967, researchers suggest it may instead be the tomb of a local Muslim cleric named Sheikh Youssef Dweikat.
The act of running over Palestinian civilians by settlers is part of a repeated pattern of violent attacks against people living under occupation. These actions are often committed with impunity, as there are rarely any meaningful investigations or accountability for the perpetrators.
Such attacks raise legal concerns about the responsibility of the occupying power under international humanitarian law to protect civilians in areas under its control. Occupying authorities are obligated to ensure the safety of the civilian population and to prevent acts of violence against them.
Providing military protection for settler incursions, or failing to prevent settler violence, amounts to complicity in these violations, especially when such attacks result in serious injuries or pose direct threats to civilians’ lives.
This incident comes amid a wider escalation in the West Bank since 7 October 2023, during which Israeli occupation forces and settlers have killed over 1,100 Palestinians and injured nearly 11,000 more. More than 21,000 Palestinians have also been arrested amid intensifying military operations and a surge in settler violence targeting Palestinian towns and villages.
