Dozens of Settlers Torched West Bank Farmland Near Beit Lid Amid Surge in Violence

Dozens of masked Israeli settlers set fire to agricultural sites near Beit Lid, east of Tulkarm, in an arson attack that damaged the Deir Sharaf Bedouin encampment and the Al-Juneidi dairy factory, local activists and footage obtained by CNN say.

Video from the scene shows thick smoke covering the area as residents — including women heard shouting in the background — rushed to extinguish flames with water buckets and portable extinguishers. Additional clips show torched trucks, burned tents and metal sheds, and smashed car windows. Palestinian civil defense teams and firefighters reportedly arrived about an hour after the fires began.

CCTV footage obtained by CNN appears to show assailants descending a hillside toward the Bedouin community, attacking the dairy facility with clubs and setting parked vehicles alight. One cargo truck bearing the factory logo is shown completely engulfed in flames, sending a large plume of black smoke into the sky.

Official responses and arrests

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said it dispatched troops after receiving a report of "dozens of masked Israeli civilians" attacking Palestinians and setting property on fire. The IDF reported that four Palestinians were injured and evacuated for treatment, that security forces used riot-dispersal measures to break up the confrontation, and that several Israeli civilians were apprehended. The military also said settlers attacked soldiers and damaged an Israeli military vehicle.

Israel Police said it arrested four Israeli suspects and transferred them for questioning while investigators and security forces collected documentation, witness statements and forensic evidence at the scene.

Context: rising settler violence during olive harvest

Activists and residents say the arson is part of a near-daily rise in settler attacks on Palestinians in the West Bank since mid-October. A United Nations report released last week alleged that Israeli settlers carried out at least 264 attacks in October, the highest monthly total recorded since the UN began tracking such incidents in 2006, and said this year’s olive harvest season has been marked by exceptional violence.

On the same weekend, clashes in nearby villages injured multiple people during olive-picking activities. In Beita, an incident left at least 10 people injured — including medics, journalists and activists — according to an Israeli activist present at the scene. Activist Oded Yedaya was hospitalized with facial fractures, and images reviewed by CNN showed serious bloodied injuries.

In Burin, off-duty Israeli reservist Yuval Ben Ari and several Israeli and foreign activists were injured after masked settlers reportedly descended on a Palestinian farm. Ben Ari told CNN he intervened and was beaten despite identifying himself as a reservist; he and other witnesses said soldiers who later arrived did not stop the attack, a claim repeated by many residents and activists in recent incidents.

Gilad Kariv, an Israeli lawmaker from the Democrats party, wrote on X that such attacks risk igniting a wider confrontation that could have grave consequences for both Israelis and Palestinians.

Investigations by security forces and police remain ongoing. Eyewitness footage and forensic evidence will be used to corroborate accounts and support any prosecutions arising from the incident.

Note: This report synthesizes eyewitness accounts, video reviewed by CNN, and official statements from the IDF and Israel Police.