The Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) killed four Palestinians, including two brothers, and wounded four others while providing protection to a group of Israeli settler militias during an attack on the village of Tal, south of Nablus in the northern West Bank. The incident escalated into acts of retaliation and collective punishment after Palestinian residents attempted to defend themselves in an incident that resulted in the killing of two settlers.
This incident exemplifies a 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 de facto integration of the IOF and settlers in carrying out systematic attacks aimed at imposing new settlement realities on the ground and forcibly displacing Palestinians from their land.
According to information obtained by PCHR’s field researchers, at approximately 07:15 on Friday, 24 July 2026, a group of around 20 Israeli settlers made their way from the Havat Gilad settlement to the southern area of Tal village, south of Nablus, where they launched attacks on homes, the village mosque, and agricultural land. The settlers also assaulted residents in those places. In response, village residents gathered and confronted the settlers by throwing stones, and the confrontation escalated into physical altercations. At approximately 08:20, the settlement’s guard, identified as “Jacob,” arrived at the scene accompanied by Israeli soldiers, who provided protection to the settlers and opened fire at Palestinian residents. During the incident, the guard assaulted two Palestinian residents with his firearm. A video footage shows the guard brandishing his weapon and attempting to assault the residents. One of the villagers then managed to seize the guard’s weapon and fired at the guard, the settlers, and the Israeli soldiers, who in turn opened direct fire at him and other Palestinians gathered at the scene. The IOF subsequently deployed additional forces to the area, which joined the settlers and opened fire at the Palestinian residents. As a result, four Palestinians, including two brothers, were killed and four others were injured, three of them critically.
Those killed were: Ibrahim Hussein’ Ali Ramadan (31), who was shot in the head; his brother, Jawad Hussein ‘Ali Ramadan (26), who was shot in the chest; Farouq ‘Adnan ‘Ali Ramadan (41), who sustained wounds to the chest, abdomen, and thigh; and ‘Imran Ahmed ‘Ali Ramadan (33), who was shot in the head.
Subsequently, IOF deployed additional forces to the scene and evacuated the injured settlers by helicopter. Later, IOF announced through its official media channels that two settlers had been killed and three others injured. IOF also imposed a military curfew on Tal village, closed all entrances to Nablus, and declared the area a closed military zone.
The IOF claimed that the settlers’ raid on Tal village was not coordinated with them, indicating that many settler attacks are carried out through coordination between the two sides. Despite denying any prior coordination, the IOF raided the area, provided protection to the settlers, and committed killings. This comes amid widespread incitement from political and military officials leading to the announcement of the launch of a largescale military operation in the West Bank.
The settlers carried out two major attacks on the villages of Jeet and Far’ata, east of Qalqiliya and southwest of Nablus, adjacent to Tal village. During the attacks, they set fire to a house and vehicles parked in front of it as well as in the vicinity of Ramallah. These attacks resulted in the injury of five Palestinians, including two who sustained serious injuries.
At the time of preparing this press release, IOF and Israeli settlers continue to carry out widespread attacks and acts of collective punishment against Palestinian civilians and their property in these areas.
The Israeli Prime Minister’s Office stated in a press release that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Israel Katz instructed the military to take “punitive” measures following the Tal village incident. The measures began with the demolition of the home of the Palestinian who disarmed and was killed instantly, a step that threatens further attacks against Palestinian civilians and their property. According to the statement, Netanyahu and Katz directed the military to carry out a “large-scale operation” in villages across the West Bank, announcing the acceleration of the legalization of settlement outposts and establishment of new ones in the West Bank.
For his part, National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir called for issuing orders to the IOF that “for every Jew killed, the enemy must bear the loss of land and homes.” Ben-Gvir has repeatedly participated in incursions into Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem, while promoting incitement for settler attacks and working to provide them with protection.
These developments come amid an ongoing pattern of escalating attacks and crimes carried out by the IOF and Israeli settler militias across the occupied West Bank.
Since the beginning of the year, IOF and settlers killed 79 Palestinians in the West Bank, including 19 children and 2 women, noting that 16 of those victims were killed by settlers’ fire.
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.
PCHR condemns these crimes and all accompanying retaliatory acts, recalling 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 urgent action to stop acts of retaliation and collective punishment carried out by the IOF and Israeli settlers, and to provide immediate protection for Palestinian civilians. PCHR also calls for serious international action to ensure accountability for perpetrators of war crimes before international justice mechanisms, end the longstanding policy of impunity, provide effective international protection for Palestinian civilians, and halt all forms of political, military, and economic support to Israel that enable it to continue its unlawful policies and commit grave breaches of international law.
