IDF fires at terrorists amid Jewish-Arab clashes in Samaria

Al-Mughayyir, located about 17 miles northeast of Ramallah and 21 miles southeast of Nablus, has in recent years become a major hub for terror activity.

By Akiva Van Koningsveld, JNS

The Israel Defense Forces said Wednesday night that it returned fire at Palestinian gunmen during a confrontation between Israeli Jews and Arabs in the eastern Samaria village of al-Mughayyir.

According to an English-language statement from the IDF, “dozens” of Israeli civilians entered the village earlier Wednesday, allegedly setting fire to property and throwing stones at Palestinians who confronted them.

After forces were deployed to al-Mughayyir in an attempt to break up the clashes, they came under gunfire and were pelted with rocks, the IDF said, adding that troops returned fire and “hits were identified.”

“Five Israeli suspects were arrested and transferred to the Israel Police for further processing,” the military noted.

The Palestinian Authority’s official Wafa news agency claimed that three “unarmed Palestinian civilians” were killed by “armed settler militias” during the confrontation, though it did not identify the gunmen by name.

Elisha Yered, a Samaria-based Jewish activist, identified one of the slain gunmen as Lutfi Sabri, who had reportedly served prison time for security offenses.

He added that the bodies of the three were paraded through the town amid chants of “With blood and fire, we will redeem you, martyr.”

Israel’s Channel 14 News cited “senior officers” in the IDF’s Central Command—responsible for the Judea and Samaria region—as harshly criticizing the military’s official account of the incident, calling it “a shame and disgrace.”

The officers reportedly said that Israeli “soldiers and civilians faced mortal danger” in al-Mughayyir.

In a statement on Thursday morning, Israel Ganz, head of the Yesha Council—which represents more than 500,000 Jewish residents of Judea and Samaria—emphasized that “no one is permitted to take the law into their own hands.”

“Unfortunately, yesterday, a small group of individuals decided on their own to cause damage in one of the villages,” Ganz wrote.

“When it comes to an act of self-defense against terrorists who come to attack, there is full backing to act. But when it comes to initiated actions, only the state, through the army, is authorized to act and take initiative.

“I am glad that this is clear to the entire population, including the hilltop youth and residents who are devotedly settling the land,” he continued.

“The few individuals who acted otherwise must be apprehended by the Israel Police, brought to justice and held accountable for their actions. They certainly do not represent the story of the settlement movement.”

Al-Mughayyir, located about 17 miles northeast of Ramallah and 21 miles southeast of Nablus, has in recent years become a major hub for terror activity.

In 2024, the village’s main mosque broadcast a speech by Hamas propaganda chief Abu Obeida, in which he called on Palestinians to expand the terror group’s war to Judea and Samaria.

In April 2024, Muhamad Ataollah Abu Alia, 22, a resident of Al-Mughayyir, carried out a terror bombing outside the nearby Jewish town of Kochav HaShachar, lightly wounding an IDF reservist.

Late last year, IDF soldiers took over the residence of the village’s deputy mayor, turning it into a temporary army headquarters and hoisting Israeli flags amid counter-terror operations in the area.