The IDF on Saturday confirmed Palestinian reports that settlers set West Bank Palestinians' homes on fire near Bethlehem overnight.
"Forces were dispatched to the area and detained several suspects near fires in the village of Kisan. The suspects were transferred to the Israel Police," the military said in a statement.
Settlers set homes on fire in a West Bank Palestinian village
Palestinian media outlets reported that groups of settlers entered the villages of Kisan and Dayr 'Allah east of Bethlehem and "caused wide destruction, threatened villages to leave their homes and vandalized property."
The Kisan municipality issued an urgent appeal to international organizations to intervene against efforts to expel residents and expand settlements. It also warned that settlers were attempting to seize control of thousands of acres of farmland.
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The incident comes two weeks after a Palestinian-American was killed during a confrontation with settlers near the West Bank village of Sinjil. The victim, Saif al-Din Kamil Abdul Karim Musalat, a Florida-born U.S. citizen in his early 20s, was visiting family in the area.
Relatives said Musalat was trying to defend family-owned land from settlers attempting to establish an unauthorized outpost when he was beaten for hours and died en route to the hospital.
U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee called for an investigation, posting on X: “There must be accountability for such an act of terror.”