Off-Duty IDF Soldier Arrested for Fatally Shooting Palestinian Olive Farmer Amidst Rising West Bank Tensions

Contradictory accounts arise as Israeli soldier claims self-defense and alleges being threatened by "an Arab mob", while Palestinians and video footage suggest lack of provocation; settler violence in the region sees significant escalation amidst calls for international intervention.

• An off-duty soldier from the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) has been arrested under suspicion of fatally shooting Palestinian olive farmer Bilal Muhammed Saleh near the West Bank village of As-Sawiya.
• The IDF soldier claims self-defense, stating that he fired warning shots in response to being threatened by “an Arab mob” while walking with his family near the Rehelim settlement. However, video footage and Palestinian accounts suggest a lack of provocation.
• The soldier is part of the religious Netzah Yehuda Brigade and was on weekend leave at the time. His lawyer maintains that he did not cause Saleh’s death.
• Palestinians state that Saleh was 600 meters away from the Rehelim settlement, harvesting olives with his wife and two children, when he was shot. The family was given only three minutes to leave their land by Israeli soldiers before the attack.
• The incident is part of escalating tensions and violence in the West Bank, with multiple violent attacks on Palestinians reported since October 7. Nonprofits, including Yesh Din and B’Tselem, have issued a statement calling for international intervention against the “state-backed wave of settler violence.”

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