Three Palestinians have been murdered, in just over 24 hours, by illegal Israeli settlers in the occupied West Bank

Early on Tuesday afternoon, 21 April, settlers were spotted near the school and houses in the Western area of al Mughayyir village, northeast of Ramallah in the occupied West Bank. Shortly afterwards, an urgent appeal was put out on the residents’ WhatsApp groups for people to make their way to the boys’ school as settlers were gathering there and had started shooting.

School children in the West Bank

13 year old Aws Hamdi al-Naasan was fatally shot in the head outside his school, while he and others were trying to get out of harm’s way.

In 2019, Aws said farewell to his father, Hamdi al Naasan, also martyred by settlers bullets.

As 33 year old Jihad Marzouk Abu Naim was leading the schoolchildren to safety he too was shot, this time in the chest. He was also martyred. Abu Naim, whose wife is eight months pregnant, was about to become a father for the first time.

Settler colonialist murderers

Local residents say they have identified the murderer as illegal settler Shmuel Wendy, head of the Homesh Yeshiva “religious school”, a figure who is familiar to the community of al Mughayyir and the nearby al Khalil Valley (Hebron).

Unsurprisingly, Wendy, who calls for the “full normalisation of the settlement enterprise”, denies even being in al Mughayyir on that day. He’s said to be planning to file a “massive lawsuit” against the Arab-Jewish grassroots movement known as Standing Together which claimed, along with many others, that Wendy was responsible for the killing.

Here, a previous video shows an armed Wendy, who can be seen intimidating and assaulting Palestinians in the al Khaleel Valley, along with other young thugs. Abu Hammam, the uncle of the martyr Jihad Marzouk Abu Naim, is one of these Palestinians. Not long ago he was forcibly displaced from his land because of violence and threats from settlers and the occupation army,

Homesh Yeshiva, in the Northern West Bank, was established in May 2023 on the site of the formerly evacuated illegal West Bank outpost of Homesh. It is situated on stolen Palestinian land.

Covering the tracks

The same afternoon as Abu Naim and al Naasan were martyred, residents of the village witnessed the occupation’s military and intelligence walking around al Mughayyir, trying to tamper with evidence of the crime.

They can be seen here searching for spent bullet casings.

The following day, the IOF gave al Mughayyir residents no time to mourn their loss.

When the funeral procession was taking place, they fired tear gas at the crowds, and later let off toxic gas bombs throughout the village.

Then around two in the morning the house raids began.

On 22 April, settlers also murdered 26 year old Odeh Awawda, in Deir Dibwan, East of Ramallah. He saw settlers coming towards his house, on the outskirts of the village.

He went outside to protect his family, but was shot in the pelvis by one of the illegal colonists and died of an internal hemorrage.

Residents were responding to Awawda’s call for help, on the village’s WhatsApp group. But as they made their way to his house to help him, Israeli occupation forces turned up and arrested the residents.

Justice!

Of course, there is no hope of justice or accountability for Palestinians, as the Israeli occupation is again investigating its own crimes.This is nothing more than for show — to silence any international criticism there may be to the cold-blooded killings of yet more Palestinians. Instead, there is only a continuation of the endless cycle of violence Palestinians endure 24 hours of every day, with no hope of any protection from anyone, anywhere.

Shmuel Wendy actually the murderer of al Mughayyir’s most recent martyrs, true, but the occupation’s police, military, illegal settlers, legal system and government are all part of the same crime-ridden society.

The IOF account of the shooting spree in al Mughayyir on 21 April differs greatly from that of the local residents. The occupation’s story is that a reserve soldier on active duty left the vehicle he was driving and started shooting at suspects who supposedly threw stones at him. But footage from residents shows something completely different. Gunfire was in the area of the school, somewhere where there are no settler roads. There is also video footage of children taking cover in their school, to try and avoid the settler’s bullets.

Settlers and soldiers in the West Bank now indistinguishable

Settler attacks are well organised and coordinated. Very often the IOF are full participants in the violence, which has the full backing of the so-called “Israeli” state. Since 7 October 2023, there has been a huge intensification of the militarisation of the illegal terrorist settler movement — including the formation of armed regional settler reservist militias, known as Hagmar, to which thousands of settlers have already enlisted. There are also settlements’ “emergency response” squads known as Kitat Konenut, who are  trained by the IOF and are given weapons by the occupation military as well. It is often impossible to tell the difference between illegal settler and the occupation’s military, as often both now wear uniform.

Since its creation in 1948, “Israel” has been treated by the West as something special. It is not. It is just another settler colony that systematically violates every law, with total impunity. But this terrorist state is only able to continue its genocide, forced displacement and ethnic cleansing of Palestinians because no meaningful action is ever taken against it.

It is time to end the hollow words of condemnation and do something. The Israeli occupation must face the consequences of its complete disregard for humanity, and so too must the governments who have aided and abetted its decades of war crimes and crimes against humanity.

‘They want to kill us by any means possible’

According to the Colonisation and Wall Resistance Commission, as of 22 April, 49 Palestinians  have been murdered by illegal settlers in the West Bank since 7 October, 2023. 14 of these Palestinians lost their lives in 2025, while since 1 January, 2026, 15 Palestinians have been murdered by these colonists as of 22 April.

A resident of al Mughayyir told the Canary, “They want to kill us by any means or method possible”. Yet despite all the, harassment, violence, killing and trauma, Palestinians refuse to leave their land. Instead, they say the blood of their martyrs will not be in vain. It will only make their resistance stronger.

Featured image via the Canary

By Charlie Jaay

Source link