Settler attacks on Burqa (Ramallah)

Timeline to the ain events

On Augustus 4, 2023, Deadly settler attack. Armed settlers entered Burqa with sheep. Palestinians confronted them; settlers threw stones and fired live ammunition. Qusai Jammal Mi'tan, 19, was killed and two Palestinians wounded. OCHA documents the incident and death. The settlers reportedly came from the direction of the Oz Zion outpost.

In April 2024, Repeated attacks / armed incursions of settlers under protection of soldiers: the Palestinian Red Crescent Society said that its crews transported four injuries, including a 15-year-old child, from live bullets after colonists’ attacked the village. More than 30 settlers attacked the village and began firing live bullets at citizens and their homes, wounding at least four citizens with bullets. They burned a barn for sheep during their attack on the village.

On July 15, 2024, a New outpost is established on Burqa land. Settlers erected tents and fencing/barbed wire on Palestinian land, explicitly described as an attempt to establish a new outpost. The violence is coupled with physical settlement expansion onto village land.

In Octobre 2024, sustained harassment during olive harvest. By late October, residents had documented 20 settler attacks in the preceding year. Settlers had burned olive trees, stolen and damaged property and attempted incursions; several illegal outposts were expanding around the village.

December 21, 2024, settler attack on outskirts of Burqa. Settlers attacked Palestinian farmers and damaged property, destroying a residential unit and an agricultural tent.

In October 2025, mass destruction of agricultural property: Settlers in Burqa cut down more than 800 saplings, including at least 170 olive trees. Reporting linked the attack to settlers believed to be from the Ramat Migron outpost.

April 2026: Israeli forces cleared large areas of land in northern Burqa. More than 500 olive, fig and almond trees were uprooted.

On May 12–18, 2026, during a heavy wave of settler-driven violence in the Ramallah governorate, Israeli settlers targeted Burqa's agricultural infrastructure. Extremists set fire to cultivated Palestinian farmlands, destroying vital olive trees and burning across approximately 10 dunums (1 hectare) of land, exacerbated by strong winds.

On June 14, 2026, settlers attacked Burqa at night, set a vehicle on fire beside Al-Nour Mosque and attempted to burn the mosque while dozens of worshippers were inside attending evening religious services.

On June 23, 2026, a gang of settlers infiltrated the eastern Ramallah village in the early hours of Tuesday morning. The attackers smashed and vandalized vehicles belonging to local Palestinian residents before fleeing the scene.

On June 26, 2026, an Israeli settler attack occurred in the Palestinian village of Burqa, located east of Ramallah in the occupied West Bank. A group of Israeli settlers entered the village and set fire to agricultural land in the southeastern area, destroying roughly 1 hectare (around 2.5 acres) of Palestinian olive groves. While the attack took place, the Israeli military heavily deployed forces around Burqa, closing the village's main entrance and several secondary roads, which severely restricted the movement of the local residents. Confrontations broke out between the Palestinian villagers and the settlers. Israeli forces detained several Palestinian youths during the unrest, which extended close to local homes. No immediate injuries were reported. This incident follows a pattern of escalating tension in the village; just days earlier,

On Augustus 22, 2026, settlers burned residential and livelihood structures in Burqa. Two families, nine people including two children, were displaced.

Several days before 28 August: According to the UN humanitarian situation report cited by The Canary, two Burqa families — nine people, including two children — had been displaced following settler attacks in which residential and livelihood structures were burned.

29 August 2026 — Eastern outskirts of Burqa: Settlers entered the eastern outskirts of Burqa while Palestinian farmers were working their land. They damaged the tyres of a Palestinian farmer's vehicle and attempted to smash it and set it on fire. Live ammunition was fired during the attack and in the vicinity of a public park, causing panic among residents. Israeli occupation forces simultaneously raided the village, reportedly to protect the settlers.

30 August 2026: Settlers and Israeli forces provoked residents.Movement restrictions were also in place in the village.

According to Sayel Kanaan, head of the Burqa Village Council, Israeli soldiers entered to protect the settlers. They then detained several young Palestinian men, rather than arresting the settlers involved in the attacks.

On Augustus 31, in the evening, a group of settlers stormed Burqa, east of Ramallah. According to an eyewitness, Civil Defence and Village Council volunteers were filling a water tanker in the al-Muntazah area when settlers began gathering and attacking residents. Israeli forces subsequently entered the area.

Settlers moved toward the eastern outskirts, they broke into a Palestinian home. They raided nearby sheep pens and they severely beat Fatima Muqattam and her husband, Wajih Hamdan. Fatima was struck on the head and sustained a severe head injury. Wajih, who has a heart condition, was sprayed with pepper spray. Both were hospitalized. The couple's home windows were smashed and their car was vandalised.

Another group of settlers attacked the western side: they attempted to set fire to a vehicle scrapyard and a livestock shed.

Settlers stole in Burqa 7 sheep, 2,450 Jordanian dinars, 1,800 Israeli shekels.

The Israeli forces raided the village while the attacks were taking place and closed the village entrance for more than two hours. According to the article,

Broader context:

At the end of August 2026, a new settler outpost was established in the eastern part of Burqa. Settlers used materials and equipment stolen from Palestinians to construct it.

On September 14, 2026, armed incursion of settlers into the eastern part of Burqa, attempting to steal livestock. A settler was filmed brandished a weapon at residents during the attack, other ones threw stones.