Illegal paramilitary Israeli colonizers have sharply intensified livestock theft across the occupied West Bank, transforming what were once sporadic incidents into a coordinated, systematic campaign carried out under the protection of the Israeli army.
Testimonies from residents, video documentation by Palestinians and international activists, and reports from rights organizations all point to a consistent pattern of assault, intimidation, and property seizure.
According to figures provided to Al Jazeera by the rights group Al‑Baydar, colonizers have stolen over 12,000 head of livestock since the beginning of 2025, in addition to 1,500 more animals stolen since January 2026.
Three Horses Taken From One Family in a Single Year
In Ein Yabrud, northeast of Ramallah, resident Mohammad Hujair has lost three horses to colonizer attacks within one year.
He shared footage showing armed colonizers seizing his white horse days earlier while he attempted to intervene. He was beaten, sustaining bruises and injuries.
Hujair said 14 colonizers stormed his home, while others invaded the village with the Israeli army, which sealed all entrances and prevented residents from reaching the area.
“سرقوا حصاني وضربوني وسرقوا عشرات الأغنام”.. أحد الفلسطينيين المتضررين من هجوم المستوطنين على أراضي قرية يبرود قضاء رام الله يروي تفاصيل الحدث #رقمي pic.twitter.com/q8Ps2hU33H
— الجزيرة فلسطين (@AJA_Palestine) April 12, 2026
“They beat us without mercy and took the horse right in front of me,” he said, adding that the group also tried to steal another horse tied near the house. He estimates his losses at 50,000 shekels (around USD 16,000) in one year.
He described the situation in the village as “catastrophic,” noting that colonizers recently stole 30 sheep from one neighbor, 40 from another, and 20 from a third.
“Every day we expect a new attack,” he said, insisting he will not leave his land.
Entire Flock Stolen After Colonizers Cut Through Fences
At dawn in a separate incident, farmer Salim Turki Hamayel reported that colonizers invaded his farm, cut the main gate, destroyed the perimeter fence, disabled surveillance cameras, and stole his entire flock — 74 high‑quality sheep valued between USD 50,000 and 60,000.
His wife, Um Abdullah, said the flock was “our only source of income,” and the family relied entirely on its production.
“المستوطنون أطلقوا علينا النار وهجروا الناس”.. مزارعو المغير قضاء رام الله يروون ما جرى خلال هجوم المستوطنين على أراضي القرية.. ماذا قالوا؟#رقمي pic.twitter.com/i0HlOJEGq5
— الجزيرة فلسطين (@AJA_Palestine) April 13, 2026
Daily Assaults on Farmers Working Their Land
Further northeast of Ramallah, farmer Kathem al‑Hajj Mohammad described near‑daily attacks on villagers tending their fields, including live fire aimed at forcing Palestinians to abandon their land.
He told Al Jazeera that what is happening reflects “a coordinated system between the army and the colonizer herds implementing grazing‑based settlement expansion.”
He urged Palestinians to remain steadfast: “We will not abandon our land. We call on our people to stay rooted and not surrender to the occupation or to the colonizer herds.”
New Outpost Expands by Forcing Residents Out
In the same agricultural zone, Ghassan Abu Alia, head of the al‑Mughayyer Agricultural Association, said a new colony outpost was established near village farmland and has been expanding by pushing residents out.
Children, women, association workers, and farmers have all been forced away, while Israeli forces fire gas canisters daily. Kathem was injured during one of these assaults.
Abu Alia said the occupation now controls more than 45,000 dunams of land and continues to pursue Palestinians on the few remaining agricultural areas in the eastern and western plains.
103 New Colonies Approved in Three Years
Commenting on the broader settlement expansion, Salah Khawaja, director of the Central Region at The Wall & Colonization Resistance Commission, said Israel’s security cabinet recently approved 34 new colonies in the West Bank.
34 مستوطنة جديدة صادقت عليها الحكومة الإسرائيلية، في خطوة يقول فلسطينيون إنها تسرّع عزل القرى والبلدات وتحويل الضفة إلى كانتونات متقطعة، وتقضي على ما تبقّى من التواصل الجغرافي الفلسطيني.. فهل نحن أمام توسع استيطاني جديد فقط، أم أمام إعادة رسم كاملة لخريطة الضفة؟#رقمي pic.twitter.com/0OHsW8ELAe
— الجزيرة فلسطين (@AJA_Palestine) April 13, 2026
This brings the total number approved under the current far‑right government to 103 colonies in three years — equivalent to 70% of all colonies built in the West Bank between 1967 and 2022, according to his statement.
He warned of a significant shift in the nature of these sites, many of which fall under the “Greater Jerusalem” project or are located between the colonies of Ma’ale Adumim and Mishor Adumim.
Linking these colonies would create a settlement belt isolating as‑Sawahra ash‑Sharqiya, Abu Dis, and al‑‘Eizariya, turning them into disconnected cantons.
Khawaja explained that the concept of “cantons” dates back to the period following the 1967 war, when Israel proposed the Ayalon Plan to divide the occupied territories into seven administrative cantons — separating Gaza, annexing Jerusalem, isolating the Jordan Valley (29% of the West Bank), and fragmenting the remaining Palestinian areas.
He said the current government is expanding that model, turning the West Bank into 176 isolated cantons surrounded by colonies on all sides.
