Israeli forces detained a Palestinian herder on Wednesday in the village of Al-Rashaydeh, east of Bethlehem, days after Jewish settlers attacked him while he was grazing sheep, according to Wafa, the official Palestinian news agency affiliated with the PLO.
Details of the arrest
Bakr Rashaydeh, head of the village council, told Wafa that Israeli forces detained Khalil Rashaydeh, 45, after raiding and searching his home. Wafa reported that settlers assaulted and injured Rashaydeh and several other Palestinian herders on Sunday, June 28.
Rise in settler attacks
Settler attacks on Palestinians have risen sharply in 2026, with the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs reporting an average of six attacks a day. Rights groups and UN reports say pressure from Israeli forces and settlers has pushed Palestinian herding communities to leave their areas. They also say Israeli forces often facilitate settler attacks by accompanying or shielding settlers, failing to stop assaults, and arresting or dispersing Palestinians instead.
Israel's response
Israel rejects those allegations, saying the military acts to maintain security, condemns violence and reviews claims of misconduct.
Amnesty International report
Separately, Amnesty International said in a June 10 report that from late 2022 to late 2025, Israel “committed serious violations of international human rights law and international humanitarian law in the context of an ethnic cleansing campaign targeting Palestinian Bedouin and herding communities in Area C” of the occupied West Bank.
