The Palestinian Centre for Human Rights (PCHR) condemns in the strongest terms the killings committed by settler militias in the West Bank on 21 and 22 April 2026. As a result, four Palestinians, including two children, were killed in three separate incidents, within the context of escalating settler attacks carried out under the protection of the Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF).
Field reports indicate that these attacks are part of an escalating pattern of armed settler assaults on Palestinian villages, during which settlers used excessive force and live fire against civilians. These acts reflect a serious level of support for, and protection of, such attacks by the IOF.
According to eyewitness accounts, at around 11:00 on Tuesday, 21 April 2026, a group of settler militias raided al-Mughayir village in Ramallah and positioned themselves near al- Mughayir Boys’ School. They opened fire on people who had gathered at the school to pick up their children. As a result, Aws Hamdi al-Na’san (14) was killed by a bullet to the head, and Jehad Marzouq Abu Na’im (32) was killed by a bullet to the chest.
According to videos circulating on social media,1 one of the armed settlers appears to have directly opened fire at people. Available information indicates that the settler’s identity is known and that he resides in the Homesh settlement, established on West Bank lands.
At the same time, Israeli forces raided the village and secured the withdrawal of the settler militias. Clashes erupted near the school, resulting in the injury of three individuals whose conditions were classified as moderate. All of the injured were transferred to Palestine Medical Complex in Ramallah to receive treatment.
It is noteworthy that Aws al-Na’san is the son of Hamdi al-Na’san, who was killed by settler militias in 2019 in a similar attack on the same village. This underscores a recurring pattern of attacks against the same families, in a context marked by the absence of accountability and the persistence of impunity.
On the morning of the same day, Mohammed Majdi al-Ja’bari (16) was killed after being deliberately struck by a vehicle driven by an Israeli settler in Hebron, in the West Bank.
According to available information, al-Ja’bari was riding his bicycle on his way to school when a vehicle driven by a settler struck him as part of a convoy accompanying an Israeli official. As a result, the child was killed instantly.
The next day, 22 April 2026, Deir Dibwan village witnessed an escalation on the ground following calls circulated on social media inciting settler militias to organize marches and carry out incursions into Palestinian areas, including those classified as Areas (A, B, and C), under slogans calling for the undermining of the Oslo Accords.
According to eyewitness testimonies, armed settlers raided the village at approximately 15:00 and headed toward agricultural lands in the al-Tal area, where they attempted to seize livestock. Locals confronted them during which settlers opened fire. As a result, ‘Odeh ‘Atef ‘Awawdeh (25) sustained a gunshot wound that penetrated his pelvis from the back, resulting in critical injuries. He was later declared dead after succumbing to his wounds at the Palestine Medical Complex.
Concurrently with the incursion into the village, IOF conducted a widescale arrest campaign targeting more than 30 young men, who were subjected to on-the-spot interrogation within the village before being subsequently released. This measure reflects the imposition of collective punishment and restrictive policies against the civilian population, in the absence of any action taken against the attacking settlers.
Since the beginning of the year, 15 Palestinians, including children, have been killed by Israeli settler militias in the West Bank according to the Wall and Settlement Resistance Commission.
PCHR considers that these crimes form part of an official and systematic policy of arming settlers and allowing them to use armed force against Palestinian civilians in the absence of effective accountability. Such conduct constitutes a serious violation of international humanitarian law, in particular the obligation to ensure the protection of the civilian population under occupation.
PCHR condemns these crimes and emphasizes that the IOF bear full responsibility for this systematic violence, which is marked by political support at the highest levels in Israel.
PCHR recalls the advisory opinion issued by the International Court of Justice in July 2024, which confirmed that the continued Israeli occupation of the Palestinian territory occupied in 1967 is illegal and obligated the occupying state to immediately end its unlawful presence, including dismantling the settlements and evacuating the settlers.
PCHR reiterates that such crimes require urgent and effective action to halt the IOF and settlers’ crimes in the occupied Palestinian territory and to end the apartheid system imposed by Israel on the Palestinian people.
PCHR calls for serious action to hold perpetrators of war crimes accountable before international justice, end the policy of impunity, provide protection for Palestinian civilians, and halt all forms of international support to Israel that enable it to continue its racist and colonial policies.
