Testimonies obtained by Haaretz indicate that soldiers arrested a Palestinian man even though he was grazing sheep on land belonging to his family
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Testimonies obtained by Haaretz indicate that soldiers arrested a Palestinian man even though he was grazing sheep on land belonging to his family
12:15 AM • May 16 2026 IDT
An IDF soldier was filmed on Friday morning pushing a Palestinian with her rifle in the northern Jordan Valley after cocking the firearm and aiming it at the man who, according to the video, did not pose a danger to her or threaten her life.
The soldier pushed the Palestinian by pressing the barrel of the loaded weapon against his chest. The IDF has yet to provide a comment on the incident.
Testimonies obtained by Haaretz indicate that the incident began when soldiers arrived at an open area near the community of Al-Hadidya where a Palestinian was grazing his sheep.
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According to eyewitnesses, the soldiers arrived at the location, which is located in an IDF firing zone the boundary of which is not continuously marked on the ground, after being called to the area by an Israeli settler who was patrolling the area. This occurred despite the fact that the area is legally registered as private, regulated Palestinian-owned land.
"The settler led the army, three junior soldiers came and demanded that the Palestinians move away," a human rights activist present on behalf of the Jordan Valley Activists organization told Haaretz. "Palestinians are allowed to graze on these lands on weekends, but the soldiers said the permit is from 12 P.M., and the Palestinian shepherd was there at 11 A.M," an hour early.
At this stage, the activist said, the soldiers began to argue with the Palestinian. "When the argument developed with the soldiers, we decided to move about 200 meters away together with the Palestinians to make sure we were outside the firing zone," the activist said. "While we started walking, one of the soldiers shouted at the shepherd to come to him, but he does not understand Hebrew. Then the soldier simply approached, grabbed him and arrested him."
According to the activist, several additional soldiers arrived at the scene to reinforce the forces, and the Palestinian was taken into custody in a military vehicle.
"The residents tried to talk to the soldiers. They asked them to release him and claimed that this is family land," the activist added. "They wanted to show the land ownership documents, 12 P.M. had already passed, they did not touch the vehicle and did not threaten anyone, but the female soldiers shouted at them to move away from the vehicle and one of them cocked her weapon at one of them."
Another activist who was present at the scene added: "She had no reason to cock a weapon; if there were a reason, we would all be under arrest."
Elsewhere in the West Bank, an armed Israeli settler held a Palestinian man who entered the area of a newly-established settler outpost on West Bank Palestinian land, later directing IDF soldiers that arrived at the scene, footage filmed on Thursday shows.
The settler is seen holding and shaking the detainee in the presence of IDF soldiers. Another video shows the settler firing his weapon and telling Palestinians to "shut your mouths," with a soldier seen throwing a stun grenade at the Palestinians.
The incident took place near an unregistered Israeli settlement recently established on the outskirts of Beit Iksa in the central West Bank, north of Jerusalem.
Also Friday, settlers torched several cars in the West Bank village of Shuqba, according to local Palestinian sources.
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