A Palestinian was killed and five others were injured on Sunday, 7 September 2026, in an attack carried out by Israeli settlers under the protection of the Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) against residents of Hejah village, north of Qalqiliya, amid an escalation in Israeli settler attacks against Palestinian civilians. The attack forms part of a broader scheme in which settlers serve as an advanced arm of the occupation in an ongoing and systematic campaign of ethnic cleansing aimed at eradicating the Palestinian presence in the West Bank, including occupied Jerusalem.
According to information collected by PCHR’s field researcher and the testimony of Amjad Majed ‘Abdullah Basalat, Head of the Hejah Village Council, at around 22:30 on Sunday, 6 September 2026, approximately five armed settlers, including one carrying an M16 rifle, attacked three Palestinians who were sitting in front of the house of Kazem Mohammed Yousif Hamad in the al-Makayel area, east of Hejah village. The house is around 300 meters away from a pastoral settlement outpost established about a month and a half ago. The settlers arrived in two agricultural tractors and assaulted the villagers, beating them with rifle butts and breaking chairs and hookahs. The attack prompted other villagers to gather in order to stop the ongoing assault.
At around 23:00, two IOF military vehicles arrived in the area from two directions and surrounded the Palestinian villagers in a confined area. One of the settlers then opened fire indiscriminately, injuring six Palestinians, including ‘Omar Mohammed Kamel Tubasi (20), who sustained a bullet wound to the head and was pronounced dead upon arrival at the hospital. Meanwhile, IOF fired tear gas canisters, stun grenades, and live ammunition to disperse the villagers, while providing protection for the settlers and facilitating their withdrawal towards the settlement outpost. IOF then called in additional reinforcements and established a checkpoint at the village entrance.
With the death of ‘Omar Tubasi, the number of Palestinians killed by Israeli settlers in the West Bank since the beginning of the year has risen to 18, including three children. Meanwhile, the number of Palestinians killed by the IOF and Israeli settlers in the West Bank since the beginning of the year has risen to 89, including 22 children and two women.
PCHR calls upon the international community to provide international protection to the Palestinian population, particularly in areas subjected to settler attacks and in communities at risk of displacement. PCHR also calls upon the High Contracting Parties to the Geneva Conventions to fulfil their obligations to ensure respect for international humanitarian law and to hold those responsible for grave violations accountable.
PCHR recalls the advisory opinion issued by the International Court of Justice in July 2024, which affirmed the illegality of Israel’s continued presence in Palestinian territory occupied since 1967 and found that Israel is under an obligation to bring its unlawful presence to an end, evacuate settlers and dismantle the settlements.
PCHR also demands serious international action to ensure accountability for perpetrators of war crimes before international justice, end the prevailing policy of impunity, ensure international protection for Palestinian civilians, and halt all forms support that enable Israel to continue its violations of international law.
