The Palestinian Centre for Human Rights (PCHR) condemns in the strongest terms the killing of two Palestinian civilians by Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF), who opened fire while protecting Israeli settlers during the latter’s attack on the village of Deir Jarir, east of Ramallah in the occupied West Bank.
The incident forms part of a broader pattern of joint crimes against Palestinian civilians and their property, in which IOF provide military protection to Israeli settlers as they carry out assaults and use lethal force against Palestinians attempting to defend themselves or their property. This pattern reflects the close coordination between the IOF and settlers in carrying out systematic attacks aimed at imposing new settlement realities and forcibly displacing Palestinians from their land.
According to information collected by PCHR’s researcher, at approximately 21:30 on Sunday, 19 July 2026, IOF, accompanied by Israeli settlers, launched a joint raid on the eastern area of Deir Jarir village, east of Ramallah, particularly al-Harayeq area located between Areas B and C near the Kohav HaShahar settlement, which is established on Palestinian-owned land in eastern Ramallah. The raid continued until approximately 01:50 the following morning.
Upon entering the area, IOF detained the owners of several sheep barns and prevented them from accessing their property, while Israeli settlers began marking the sheep inside the barns in what appeared to be an organized attempt to facilitate their seizure. As news of the incident spread on social media, dozens of residents from Deir Jarir gathered and headed to the area in an effort to prevent the settlers from taking the property. However, Israeli soldiers were waiting for them and immediately opened intense live fire directly at the residents from approximately 50 to 70 meters, without issuing any prior warning or firing warning shots.
The shooting killed Ahmed ‘Adel Abu Mokho (26), who was struck by a bullet in the thigh that severed his femoral artery and ‘Odah ‘Abdel Rahim ‘Odah Farakhnah (53) after being shot with a bullet in the abdomen. Moreover, 3 others sustained varying injuries.
Video footage captured by a camera mounted on an ambulance shows the moment Ahmed Abu Mokho was shot, causing him to collapse to the ground after being injured, before he was transferred to the hospital.
This attack forms part of a pattern of escalating assaults carried out by Israeli settlers from the Yaftakh settlement outpost, established on land belonging to Deir Jarir village after 7 October 2023. Since its establishment, settlers have carried out repeated attacks against Palestinian civilians and their property in an effort to entrench the outpost’s presence, seize additional land, and forcibly displace Palestinian residents.
On 9 July 2026, Israeli settlers launched an attack on the village, setting fire to property. Clashes subsequently erupted between the settlers and village residents who attempted to defend themselves and their property. During the incident, one settler sustained a head injury after being struck by a stone. Afterwards, settlers published claims on Hebrew-language social media alleging that residents of Deir Jarir had stolen their sheep, in what appeared to be an attempt to justify the continued attacks and provide a pretext for seizing additional land and property belonging to the village.
Over the past few months, PCHR has documented a significant escalation in settler attacks, both in their frequency and the level of violence employed, carried out under the direct protection of and with the active participation of IOF. This escalation has resulted in the killing of dozens of Palestinians, injuries to many others, the burning of homes, vehicles, and agricultural land, and the seizure of Palestinian property. These attacks form part of a systematic policy aimed at expanding settlements, consolidating control over Palestinian land, and forcibly displacing Palestinian communities. They constitute an extension of Israel’s policies of annexation and settler colonialism, in violation of international law.
Since the beginning of the year, IOF and settlers killed 71 Palestinians in the West Bank, including 18 children and 2 women, while 16 victims were killed by settlers’ fire.
PCHR condemns these crimes and recalls the advisory opinion issued by the International Court of Justice in July 2024, which affirmed the illegality of Israel’s continued occupation of the Palestinian territory occupied since 1967 and held that Israel is under an obligation to end its unlawful presence, including by dismantling its settlements and evacuating its settlers.
PCHR emphasizes that the continued impunity enjoyed by IOF and Israeli settlers encourages the further escalation and expansion of these crimes. This places the international community under an obligation to take immediate and effective action to stop crimes committed by Israeli settlers and the IOF in the occupied Palestinian territory (oPt), and to bring an end to Israel’s regime of apartheid and settler colonialism imposed on the Palestinian people.
PCHR calls for serious international action to ensure accountability for perpetrators of war crimes before international justice mechanisms, end the longstanding policy of impunity, provide international protection for Palestinian civilians, and halt all forms of international political, military, and economic support to Israel that enable it to continue its unlawful policies and commit grave breaches of international law.
