Religious Jewish volunteers confront settler violence while defending a Palestinian family in the West Bank
A group of religious Jewish activists traveled to the West Bank to protect the Faraj family and were assaulted by Israeli settlers, leaving several injured.
Ziva Sharp says her Jewish faith drives her to defend Palestinians, prompting her to join a small, largely religious Israeli group that patrols the occupied West Bank. On a recent visit to Jannatah near Bethlehem, the volunteers attempted to build a protective barrier around the Faraj family's house after settlers erected a prefabricated dwelling on the property. The encounter turned violent when members of the Hilltop Youth, a radical settler faction, stormed the site, hurling stones, deploying pepper spray and striking one outlet reporter in the chin.
At least five activists were wounded in the clash. The Faraj family has already suffered the death of Mohammed Faraj in March and injuries to other relatives, with no arrests made for that killing. The activists are part of Bnei Avraham, a religious-Jewish movement founded four years ago to counter what they view as unjust settlement policies. Their actions occur amid a surge in settler-Palestinian violence since the Oct. 7, 2023 Hamas attacks and as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government pushes further settlement construction ahead of upcoming elections.
Why it matters
The incident highlights deep divisions within Israeli society and the growing risk of settler-Palestinian clashes in the West Bank.
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